Should Wrong-way Drivers Lose License for 10 years?

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3/17/2011
Steve Lombardi
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Should Wrong-way Drivers Lose License for 10 years?

Another wrong-way collision day at The Iowa Edict and even I am shaking my head wondering what is going on out there on the interstate highway system. Today is the day of infamy when wrong-way drivers get their stories posted so we can all learn to drive the interstate highway system in a way to protect ourselves and our loved ones from getting in a head-on crash with a wrong-way interstate driver? I have to say that even I am stymied by the sheer number of wrong-way events over this past week. I'm not sure if it's the economy that is causing people to drink more or if the weather getting warmer more cars and trucks are out on the roads, but the number of wrong-way events reported in this post has even me shaking my head. This is unbelievable.

Today's Question: Should wrong-way drivers lose their driver's license for 10 or more years?

Count the number of wrong-way driver stories and it will absolutely blow your friggin mind. Every week I add the full line up of the week's wrong-way event on the Lombardi Law Firm website so if you want to see the consistency of head-on collisions or near head-on collisions follow this link. At that link you'll see how to avoid being a wrong-way driver, how to avoid wrong-way drivers and how to anticipate the places where you're likely to run into a wrong-way driver situation.

Interesting or scary, you be the judge. Here are this week's reports from Rhode Island, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, California, Europe, Canada, New Hampshire, Alabama, Kentucky, Washington State, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Australia, Nebraska, Delaware, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Scotland, England and Florida. This isn't all of them, there are some I just pick up on and others not reported or that get turned around before they crash or get caught. So what you see here isn't a complete story. The complete story is much worse. If you want to see YouTube wrong-way collisions follow this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62rfoDn2oXY

Wrong-way driver killed on Rte. 195
Providence Journal
By Mark Reynolds PROVIDENCE - A 28-year-old Providence man was killed in a head-on crash early Saturday morning after he drove the wrong-way on Route 195, according to state police. The driver, Eduardo Zabala II, of 955 Manton Ave., Providence, ...
See all stories on this topic »

Deputies say wrong-way driver caused deadly accident in Dallas
WFAA
by CYNTHIA VEGA DALLAS - Dallas County Sheriff's Department investigators said alcohol may be a factor in a wrong-way driver crash that killed one person and injured three others in a second vehicle. Joseph Macias was driving a red Ford pickup truck ...
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Wrong way driver injures four, one dies
Providence Eyewitness News
On scene they found the driver of the wrong-way car dead and four people suffering from serious, but non-life threatening injuries. State Troopers continue to investigate the crash, but believe the car traveling the wrong way down 195 struck a Honda ...
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2 Killed As Wrong-Way Driver Causes E-470 Head-On Crash
KMGH Denver
Two people were killed Sunday night when a wrong-way driver on E-470 caused a head-on collision, the Colorado State Patrol said. At around 8:24 pm, a 89-year-old woman driving a Ford Taurus station wagon southbound in the northbound lanes of E-470 ...
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Police: Wrong-way driver on Route 101 was drunk
The Union Leader
The wild wrong-way ride allegedly began at the Hampton tolls around midnight. In an affidavit, Brentwood police Officer Brett Wells said he was informed by a Rockingham County dispatcher of a 2002 Dodge Caravan traveling westbound in the eastbound ...
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Troopers often 'helpless' when wrong-way drivers strike
Fox 31 KDVR.com
"I just witnessed an accident on E-470," said another 911 caller while dispatchers asked him about a wrong way driver. "It's a helpless feeling because, as a trooper, you can't get on highway going the wrong way to endanger more people," said Reid. ...
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Wrong-way DUI driver gets 15 years in fatal crash
Fox 31 KDVR.com
She struck at least one car near the 92nd Avenue exit, seriously injuring the driver. Long's blood alcohol level was measured at 0.252 - more than three times the legal DUI limit. "Mary was a fighter," David Swanson, Mary's brother, told the court ...
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Wrong-way drivers fatal crash
Scotsman
The woman died at the scene while her passenger, an 18-year-old boy, was taken to hospital in Glasgow, where he is being treated for leg and chest injuries. Hospital staff describe his condition as serious but stable. The 36-year-old driver of the ...
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Video shows wrong-way driver moments before fatal crash
kwgn.com
A nine-second video released by the E-470 toll authority on Wednesday shows an elderly driver going the wrong way on the toll road just moments before a crash that took her life, and also killed a young father of three. The video was taken from a ...
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Wrong Way Driver On I-70 Stopped Tuesday Morning
KMGH Denver
A suspected drunk driver went the wrong way on Interstate 70 for more than 4 miles Tuesday morning but was stopped before anyone got hurt. Michelle Keller, 49, was arrested at I-70 near Wadsworth around 1:21 am The Arvada resident was issued a summons ...
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Wrong-way crash in I-45 near downtown Dallas leaves one dead ...
By Bruce Tomaso/Editor
Fox4 and others are reporting on a fatal wrong-way before dawn that left one driver dead and others in the hospital. According to Channel 4 (which had dramatic photos from the scene), a red Ford pickup was speeding and weaving in and ...
Crime Blog - http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/

Truck hits WSP car at Puyallup, minor injury - Breaking News - The ...
Driver hit on I-5 after losing consciousness. The Washington State Patrol says a 56-year-old Vancouver man lost consciousness while driving on Interstate 5 and his car was struck by another vehicle. Wrong-way driver killed trying to ...
The Olympian Online -- Breaking News - http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/

WATCH: Video Released Of Car In Fatal Wrong-Way Crash
The Colorado State Patrol says a sedan going the wrong way on a Denver-area freeway collided head-on with an SUV, and the drivers of both vehicles were killed. Video has now been released of the car traveling in the wrong direction ...
KKTV - HomePage - Headlines - http://www.kktv.com/?q=http://www.evilaliv3.org%2F

Police: Wrong-Way Driver Arrested For DWI - New Hampshire News ...
EPPING, N.H. -- Epping police say a Dover man was arrested early Thursday morning after driving the wrong way down Route 101 from Hampton to Epping.
www.wmur.com/news/26977767/detail.html

Wrong Way Driver Dies in Bay Way Crash
WKRG-TV
MOBILE, Alabama - As rush hour traffic starts to build you've got to think a lot of drivers on I-10 are still thinking about what they would do if they met a wrong way driver. "That's just it, somebody's coming your way you really don't have no where ...
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Wrong-way driver sent to jail for five months
The Union Leader
By JASON SCHREIBER BRENTWOOD - A Dover man will spend five months in jail after pleading guilty Friday to charges he was drunk when he drove the wrong way on Route 101 from Hampton to Epping last week and nearly struck police officers trying to stop ...
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Police investigating deadly wrong-way crash on Bardstown Road
WAVE
The driver of the Camaro was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. "We've learned reports that actually he was in the southbound lanes of Bardstown going the wrong way in Mount Washington by the bypass, so this wasn't something that ...
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One Killed In Louisville Wrong-Way Crash
LEX18 Lexington KY News
There was no word on that person's condition. The driver of the Camaro was also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say 911 calls indicate the Focus may have in the wrong lanes for several mile prior to the crash.
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1 dead, 2 injured in Louisville after car traveling wrong way hits another head-on
The Republic
Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley says the driver of the Durango was taken to University of Louisville Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Witnesses told police the Ford Focus had been traveling in the wrong way from Mount Washington, ...
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Category: Wrong-way Interstate and Highway Collisions in Iowa

Labels: attorney collisions death highway I-235 I-35 I-380 I-80 injury Interstate Iowa State Patrol lawyer Lombardi negligence reports safety wrong-way wrong-way collisions

Wrong-way drivers are causing deaths in America’s interstate highway system all across the United States. Wrong-way collisions can have several causes and there are things we can do to educate ourselves from being involved in one. With two vehicles traveling towards one another at 70 mph death is almost certain. So what can you do to avoid being in one?

For several months I’ve collected news items on wrong-way collisions and have analyzed where, when and how they occurred. There have been so many that I can only cover the month of July for 2009 and that is enough to provide us with 70 separate wrong-way collisions from hundreds of news stories. From these news reported collisions that here are the general causes and how we can avoid being one of those who die from a wrong-way driver coming towards us at 50 to 70 mph.

About wrong-way drivers

Wrong way drivers present an obvious danger to all motorists on our highways.

The most recent available crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates wrong way drivers are involved in 1.5 percent of all fatal crashes.

Drivers who travel the wrong way on one way highways generally fall into one of our different categories:

Intoxicated driver
Older drivers who easily get confused
Purposeful acts including attempts to commit suicide and criminals attempting to elude the police
Inattentive drivers who mistake an off-ramp for an on-ramp
Mental defect or disease
Prescription drug intoxication
Inexperience
GPS providing incorrect, inaccurate or confusing information

Safety tips and information related to wrong way driver situations:

Watch far ahead for signs of a possible wrong way driver, looking for signs similar to pending problems or developing emergency situations such as other traffic braking or swerving to avoid something, or the obvious - headlights coming in the opposite direction.
Caution against driving long periods in the left lane on freeways, especially on curves and over a hill or any rise in the road where you aren’t able to clearly see ahead.
Be aware that wrong way drivers usually drive in the passing lane believing they are actually on a two-lane highway.
The most common types of wrong way crashes are head-on or sideswipe crashes.

What should you do if you see a wrong-way driver?

· Get to the shoulder and stop.

· If you can’t get to the shoulder, slow down and attempt to safely stop your vehicle by pulling to the right.

· Sound your horn.

· Put on your lights and flash the high beams.

· Call 9-1-1.

· Before getting in the car wear your seat belts.

· Drive in the right hand lane of travel on the Interstate.

· When passing or coming to the crest of a hill look ahead for a wrong-way driver making sure the lane is clear.

· Assume when in the left hand lane of a divided highway that you may come upon a wrong-way driver.

· When driving on a divided highway stay vigilant and pay attention to what is ahead of you. Avoid allowing distractions to take your attention off the road ahead.

How can drivers avoid wrong-way driving?

· Don’t drive drunk.

· When coming to a divided highway come to a complete stop, look at and read the signs, making sure you know which way to go.

· Don’t allow vehicles to the rear to rush you.

· Stay off the telephone when driving.

· Don’t allow distractions to interfere with being vigilant about your driving.

· If you’re a young driver, don’t drive when the other passengers are a distraction.

· If you’re an elderly driver, get evaluated once a year to see if your senses and skill level allow you to safely drive. Don’t be so stubborn about giving up your driver’s license that you ignore the signs of perception difficulties. Invest in and use a GPS.