Wrong-way driving is one of the most terrifying and lethal types of car crashes, and Cleveland is experiencing an unusually high number of these incidents.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) reports that the Cleveland area has seen a higher-than-normal rate of wrong-way drivers.
New technology is being implemented to reduce these numbers and ensure safer roads for residents.
Wrong-way crashes are rare, but Cleveland's numbers are alarmingly high. In Ohio, these crashes make up only 0.1% of all accidents, yet they are 40 times more likely to be fatal.
Technology being set up within the Wrong Way Detector Corridors would alert authorities quickly that someone was driving the wrong way.
In June, a car drove the wrong way on I-71, heading up the West 130th Street exit ramp.
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The result was deadly: a woman was killed, and others were seriously injured. The incident was captured on camera and monitored by teams over 100 miles away at the Traffic Management Center in Columbus.
These teams watch over all the roads in Ohio, monitoring anything from broken-down cars to debris impacting traffic.
Soon, Cleveland's traffic monitors will have new technology to help stop wrong-way drivers, including the installation of advanced signs around the city.
"We identified high-risk areas by analyzing wrong-way crashes from 2016 to 2019," Brent Kovacs, with District 12 of ODOT, said The over two dozen areas will see the new signage.
These aren't typical signs. The wrong-way signs have small LEDs around them, and a camera on top alerts the Traffic Management Center when someone is driving the wrong way.
Usually, this alert the flashing light is enough to stop drivers.
"As a vehicle drives the wrong way, lights flash around the wrong-way and do-not-enter signs. This often turns the driver around," Matt Bruning, the Press Secretary of ODOT, said.
If the car continues, one of the nearly 12,000 cameras installed along the highways will follow it in real-time. When seconds can mean life or death, relying solely on drivers isn't enough.
"People are frantic and give the wrong directions, but we see it live. We can get accurate information and dispatch crews quickly," said David Menke, a Traffic Management Center Supervisor.
"This will help us alert severely impaired drivers that they are going the wrong way," Bruning said.
Most wrong-way drivers are extremely impaired, and these incidents often happen overnight or on weekends.
The design of the new system considers impaired drivers. Research shows impaired drivers tend to look down, so lower signs have been implemented.
Over two dozen ramps in the Cleveland area will receive these upgrades by the end of the year.
Have a travel or transportation question? See a traffic alert? Email Elizabeth VanMetre at Elizabeth.VanMetre@wews.com
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