The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has been battling against wrong-way drivers in the state.
According to Theresa Poer, the director of transportation operations for TXDOT’s Fort Worth District, there are several measures being taken against wrong-way drivers.
"Our team has worked hard over the years to implement many countermeasures for wrong way driving, from signing and pavement markings to advanced detection systems,” said Poer.
Poer said that wrong-way crashes make up less than 1% of all crashes in the state, but they are among the most severe.
TXDOT started a pilot program around a decade ago which installed wrong-way countermeasures on corridors in some of the largest cities across the state.
Several of the countermeasures have been developed with the understanding that most wrong-way drivers are impaired. Impaired drivers typically focus on the pavement in front of the car. Other countermeasures aim to notify TXDOT staff in real time.
Some of the countermeasures include reflective pavement arrows, radar detection modules, and high-resolution traffic cameras.
These efforts have had great results in some areas. The Fort Worth area saw over 90% of wrong-way drivers course-correcting before causing a crash.
Many departments of transportation across the county have installed or are currently installing wrong-way detection technology on the highways.
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Source: AASHTO, Hoodline
