Krishna Desai, senior global marketing manager at Cubic Transportation Systems, discusses how to prevent wrong-way driving through technology, design and infrastructure.
Between 2016 and 2021, there were 700 incidents of people caught driving the wrong way on motorways, almost all caused by human error.
While one obvious response is to increase penalties for people making this potentially catastrophic mistake, ultimately, it’s not that simple.
In fact, there are a range of issues to address including those driving recklessly, trying to evade police or elderly motorists who are potentially more likely to become confused while driving.
In the case of elderly drivers, as the population ages and remains more active into their later years, preventing wrong-way accidents and reducing driving risks is likely to increase in importance. To ensure that everyone can safely navigate the motorway network, it’s vital to consider the options available for preventing wrong way driving accidents.
Modern vehicle tech and smarter roads
Clearly, one important prospective contributor to reducing risk is the use of technology. Various regional and local transportation authorities around the world have begun using alerting technologies to prevent drivers from making a mistake that could lead to a wrong-way crash.
Unfortunately, technology like flashing signs does have risks of false alarms, so some projects also employ dynamic message signs to alert other drivers to the possibility of a wrong-way driver on the road. This helps increase the risk awareness of other road users as they navigate a road or allows motorists the time to select an alternate route.
In addition, modern traffic management systems are designed to efficiently move motorists through busy roads and junctions while creating a safe distance between vehicles.
For instance, a combination of onboard networking capabilities, sensors, radar and cameras enables vehicles within a certain distance of each other to share information regarding traffic slowdowns or sudden stops that might result in an accident. In this context, communication isn’t only limited to motorists, with vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) connecting vehicles with traffic lights, common road signs and other tech operated regionally or nationally.
Taking this a stage further, the concept of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology enables city traffic management systems, pedestrians and cyclists equipped with alerting apps on their smart phones to receive information directly from motorists.
On top of alerting individuals to potential wrong way drivers, this could also include details like the length of red lights, the arrival times of buses and real-time problems on the roads such as traffic congestion or issues caused by flooding, icing or potholes. This technology has already generated positive road safety results.
Effective low-tech solutions
While it’s tempting to assume that technology offers the main solution to the dangers associated with wrong-way driving, in reality, some of the most effective strategies are quite ‘low tech’ by comparison. For instance, traffic engineering and urban design play an important role to play in promoting road safety.
The growth in cycling-friendly infrastructure, for instance, has given rise to dedicated lanes and even entire routes where cyclists are more effectively separated from other road vehicles. As more towns and cities look at discouraging the use of cars – for safety and environmental reasons – these solutions are likely to grow in popularity even further. Whilst these don’t deter wrong way driving, it can decrease the risk of severe causality for non-motor road users.
Addressing wrong way driving issues more specifically, there are various options available, such as painting arrows on the asphalt, using barriers or installing illuminated and flashing reflectors directly into the road.
Ultimately, any visual reinforcement that can help people in poorly lit or competing light situations is likely to be beneficial, particularly if there are repeat incidents of people going the wrong way.
Looking at the long term, there are a range of innovative solutions available that can help minimise the likelihood and impact of wrong way driving and in doing so, promote better all-round road safety on our increasingly congested junctions, dual carriageways and motorways.
