Another Wrong-Way Crash

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 02/19/2016 at 09:14 • Filed to: None

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This seems to be happening with alarming frequency in the Austin area. In the comments, a truck driver said that the only thing to stop this would be the installation of wrong-way spikes on highway onramps. I like the way he thinks.

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Snuze: Needs another Swede > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 09:35

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Yes and no. On one hand, I agree because of the life saving potential.

On the other hand it seems like an extreme measure to take. If it’s happening frequently then there is likely an underlying cause. Maybe the on and off ramps aren’t clearly marked, poor driver training, etc. So it might be prudent to investigate those causes first. The reason I say this is for every one person that does end up on the highway, there’s probably several that make the mistake, realize the mistake, and correct it before anything bad happens.

davedave1111 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 09:36

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Do you not have the road layout that make it almost impossible to turn into the wrong carriageway? We have them here, and while they don’t stop every wrong-way driver, they do pretty much restrict it to people who shouldn’t be driving.

I mean something like this:

https://goo.gl/maps/foUhMd6Jb…

(Don’t forget we go the other way round the roundabout here.)

You can see that the exit from the roundabout for the correct side of the carriageway is an easy left with a nice smooth curve to it, whereas the next ‘exit’ - actually an entrance - would require you to make a 180 degree hairpin turn round a pointy bit of kerb to get into it.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > davedave1111 02/19/2016 at 09:42

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Wow, that is fantastic! I think you’re right, that would make it *almost* impossible to go the wrong way.

Instead, we get crap like this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.40101…

This one is in my home town and there’s already been at least one fatal accident from people thinking they are turning onto the main crossing road but going down the on ramp instead.

ttyymmnn > davedave1111 02/19/2016 at 09:46

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No, nothing that intelligent. This is the area where it happened. The victims were going north, on the right side of the interstate, the idot was going south. Just above the truck is the exit ramp, and once the idiot gets going the wrong way on the frontage road, there’s nothing to stop them from getting on the highway. Of course, it goes against everything you ever learned about driving, because you never (or very rarely) enter a highway moving to your right. You exit to the right. Of course, if the guy was plastered and thought he was already on the highway, then he may have thought he was exiting, when in fact he was entering the wrong way. Also, look at the white car at the intersection of Brent Blvd. You will notice that the frontage road (feeder) is two-way. There are many of those in TX. So, if you’re going south on the two-way feeder, in your right lane, there’s nothing at all to keep you from entering the highway ramp going the wrong way. Nothing except a yield or stop sign. Note the white bar at the top of the picture on the frontage road. That’s a stop, or at least a yield. Bottom line, it’s poor road design, but it’s also a problem with lots of drunks on the roads. Note that this happened at 01:00.

BigBlock440 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 09:48

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Either drunk or can’t read English probably. That seems like a lot of people going the wrong way though, glad it only happens once every couple of years here.

ttyymmnn > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/19/2016 at 09:49

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I think the main problem is, at that point, the access road is two-way. It’s very easy for some sot to be coming south on the access road, blow the stop sign at the ramp and enter going the wrong way. There are many two-way access roads in TX, and they are a nightmare. This is where it happened. Note the white van going south on the two-way access road (frontage road, or feeder). See how easy it would have been for him to take the ramp onto the interstate? It’s a very badly designed system, but it’s been around as long as the interstates, and it’s not going to change.

ttyymmnn > BigBlock440 02/19/2016 at 09:50

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I blame the drunk, and the two-way access roads. Look below for my pictures and description of the crash area.

Stapleface > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 09:55

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Poor road design is a massive understatement. I can easily see why this happens. They have to make the entrance difficult to get to when entering the wrong way. No wonder they have that many wrong way accidents

I mean, don't get me wrong, inattentive people are at least partly to blame too. But this road design just seems like it's asking for these accidents to occur.

wkiernan > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 09:59

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Rather than spike strips, how about some kind of electronic “wrong way” sign with a radar detector that would detect wrong-way drivers and light up a bunch of strobe lights and sirens?

spanfucker retire bitch > davedave1111 02/19/2016 at 10:04

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Some roads here are designed well enough to prevent it, but a lot of older ones aren’t. At the very least, they usually have like a half dozen “Wrong Way” reflective signs on the off ramps to indicate they are not an on ramp. That only does so much though if the driver is either ignorant or just not paying attention.

ttyymmnn > wkiernan 02/19/2016 at 10:06

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They’ve already got WRONG WAY signs with blinking red LED borders.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:07

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I feel as though I’m missing something because the map there has arrows on the frontage roads suggesting one-way travel.

BigBlock440 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:08

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If that road next to the interstate is 2 way, that makes the exit ramp look like an on-ramp. Why the fuck would they do that? That is terrible design.

ttyymmnn > Stapleface 02/19/2016 at 10:09

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It also sucks when you’re exiting the interstate to a two-way feeder because you have to watch for oncoming cars that blow the stop/yield, and you have to crane your neck to look for cars that have blown the yield going your direction. It’s a horrible design, but with so many businesses on the feeder roads, there has to be two-way traffic. The two-way feeders are more prevalent in more rural areas, though, and not in major cities. Also, the lighting is not as good in those rural areas.

Pixel > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:09

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ttyymmnn > BigBlock440 02/19/2016 at 10:11

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In more rural areas of the state, or in smaller cities, they need the tw0-way feeder to serve the businesses along the highway. But yeah, it’s really f**king idiotic.

davedave1111 > spanfucker retire bitch 02/19/2016 at 10:19

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“That only does so much though if the driver is either ignorant or just not paying attention.”

I’ve read somewhere that in fact most wrong-way drivers realise fairly rapidly that they’re going the wrong way, but panic and don’t know what to do about it. I guess the signs don’t help them either.

davedave1111 > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/19/2016 at 10:21

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WTF? Was that road designed by the guy who invented figure-of-eight Destruction Derby?

spanfucker retire bitch > davedave1111 02/19/2016 at 10:23

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I’ve read that a lot about older drives, who either don’t realize they’re going the wrong way, or that by the time they do, they’re already on the highway and they’re too scared to do anything. So yeah, I’ve heard that too.

davedave1111 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:23

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God, that’s a scary road layout. Seems to me you could improve matters greatly by at least making the access road one-way.

BigBlock440 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:25

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The two way’s not the problem, IMO, the problem is the way the off-ramp connects to it. Make it more perpendicular, the car coming off the highway has an option to turn left or right, and it will no longer look like an on-ramp.

ttyymmnn > davedave1111 02/19/2016 at 10:26

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The access road is one way in most big cities. The other problem with the design is that when you want to enter the interstate you have to cross over oncoming traffic on the feeder. When everybody is paying attention and driving defensively, it works fine. But we all know how rarely that happens.

ttyymmnn > BigBlock440 02/19/2016 at 10:27

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Agree, but there’s not enough room for that in most places. And you would have to rebuild every. single. exit. in the state. TxDOT barely has enough money to fill the potholes. Unless they’re building a privately-funded toll road. Plenty of money for that.

Sneaky Pete > wkiernan 02/19/2016 at 10:33

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The reflectors between lanes on the freeway are also red if you’re going the wrong way, at least here in California.

Sneaky Pete > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:35

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We need to stop these senseless accidents that are caused by a select few idiots. We need to ban cars that have more than 50 horsepower. What does anyone need with a car with more than 50 horsepower? It’s excessive and irresponsible.

ttyymmnn > Sneaky Pete 02/19/2016 at 10:43

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Alissa, is that you??

BigBlock440 > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:44

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To me it looks like there’s plenty of room to put a stop sign and hook the off-ramp at the end, but I’ve never driven there.

Sneaky Pete > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 10:49

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My best impression with a mix of satire. My brain hurt as I typed it.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > ttyymmnn 02/19/2016 at 11:01

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Yeah, I see what you’re saying. If you’re not paying attention or otherwise distracted it could be very easy to veer onto the off ramp.

Tohru > wkiernan 02/19/2016 at 19:59

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You forgot snipers with .50 cals to penetrate the engine block, to stop the vehicle safely and humanely.