Here is another report of people being killed by someone driving the wrong way on a freeway:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...sedgntp&cvid=e70edd42e45b468ea7220f3955b61617
This has happened before and is likely to happen again somewhere, sometime.
There is an easy solution that would prevent it from happening again and I have long wanted to see it implemented.
It involves tire puncture strips on a hinge at the bottom of the off ramp. If you are exiting the freeway you run over the strips and drive them down on the hinge flat with the surface of the road. However, if you are attempting to enter the wrong way they are in the up position and will puncture your tires not allowing you to proceed any further.
Will they cost money to build and install? Of course. But they surely would save some lives.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...sedgntp&cvid=e70edd42e45b468ea7220f3955b61617
This has happened before and is likely to happen again somewhere, sometime.
There is an easy solution that would prevent it from happening again and I have long wanted to see it implemented.
It involves tire puncture strips on a hinge at the bottom of the off ramp. If you are exiting the freeway you run over the strips and drive them down on the hinge flat with the surface of the road. However, if you are attempting to enter the wrong way they are in the up position and will puncture your tires not allowing you to proceed any further.
Will they cost money to build and install? Of course. But they surely would save some lives.
You have the best of intentions. Somehow I can't see them allowing anything that could affect controllability in a higher speed environment.
It might be obvious but good signage, clear guide lines and well laid out intersections are the first thing to look at. Also signs facing the wrong way which say "Go Back" on freeway off-ramps.
It won't exactly stop someone who has decided to do the wrong thing. Is that what we're talking about here?
It might be obvious but good signage, clear guide lines and well laid out intersections are the first thing to look at. Also signs facing the wrong way which say "Go Back" on freeway off-ramps.
It won't exactly stop someone who has decided to do the wrong thing. Is that what we're talking about here?
Allen,
I don't understand how it would affect controllability. It would be basically transparent to drivers exiting the freeway, except for a possible noise when it pops back up after they move off of it. And even that could be minimized by a small shock absorber that would limit the speed of the upward recovery to one or two seconds instead of a sharp bang.
I think that signage also has a role, but it wouldn't stop someone who isn't paying attention.
I don't understand how it would affect controllability. It would be basically transparent to drivers exiting the freeway, except for a possible noise when it pops back up after they move off of it. And even that could be minimized by a small shock absorber that would limit the speed of the upward recovery to one or two seconds instead of a sharp bang.
I think that signage also has a role, but it wouldn't stop someone who isn't paying attention.
Looking at some of the products already on the market and used for parking lots I see where there could be a problem. Most of them are rated for a maximum speed of 5 mph in order to be sure that they retract. Speeds over that could result in tire punctures. So someone would have to design a version that would fully retract at much higher car speeds than the current products. Not sure if that is possible.
They put radars all over the roads for speed and traffic lights.
They have the technology to detect wrong way driving.
They have the technology to detect wrong way driving.
What happens if there is say an ambulance or police vehicle that is in a hurry?
Better to link the sensors to the toll tags (we have RFID based toll passes here, which are prepaid cards of a sort), and Dubai has a pager sort of device...that has vehicle and / or owner ID, so a law breaker could be tracked, or the fine deducted from the account.
Burst tires are hard to drive with, could cause a bigger accident. Though most people would lose control, and stop the vehicle.
Better to link the sensors to the toll tags (we have RFID based toll passes here, which are prepaid cards of a sort), and Dubai has a pager sort of device...that has vehicle and / or owner ID, so a law breaker could be tracked, or the fine deducted from the account.
Burst tires are hard to drive with, could cause a bigger accident. Though most people would lose control, and stop the vehicle.
How is this diode to be maintained...to a level of 100% reliability under all conditions...and at who's expense?
The road signs are already there: what's needed is a higher bar to graduation for drivers.
The road signs are already there: what's needed is a higher bar to graduation for drivers.
Signs don't do anything to stop someone who wilfully drive the wrong way, whether they do so on a dare or to kill themselves. The latter could possibly be addressed with better access to mental healthcare.
Tom
How many deaths are there from wrong way ramp drivers?
What does it cost to install a ramp regulator? How many ramps are there?
What is the value of the lives saved? (Harsh question but vital when you allocate money to saving lives!)
The interstate highway system alone has more than 2500 intersections. That would require 10,000 gates. A basic installable gate is roughly $10,000. The callous cost of a human life is $1,000,000. So adding the gates is a break even at 100 deaths on just the interstate roadways.
Reported statistics seem to show there are about 500 wrong way deaths per year. Most of them are apparently alcohol related.
However the interstate roads are only a small portion of the total roads. 1.25%!!! Thus the cost of adding driving diodes would 16 times more than the cost of the resulting injuries. So the money could be better spent on other safety bits such as getting intoxicated drivers off the road.
What does it cost to install a ramp regulator? How many ramps are there?
What is the value of the lives saved? (Harsh question but vital when you allocate money to saving lives!)
The interstate highway system alone has more than 2500 intersections. That would require 10,000 gates. A basic installable gate is roughly $10,000. The callous cost of a human life is $1,000,000. So adding the gates is a break even at 100 deaths on just the interstate roadways.
Reported statistics seem to show there are about 500 wrong way deaths per year. Most of them are apparently alcohol related.
However the interstate roads are only a small portion of the total roads. 1.25%!!! Thus the cost of adding driving diodes would 16 times more than the cost of the resulting injuries. So the money could be better spent on other safety bits such as getting intoxicated drivers off the road.
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Currently freeways in Sydney, Australia have regularly spaced cameras for automatic mobile phone use detection, speed etc. Speed signs are regularly spaced and variable using LEDs. Lane closures can be done remotely. Regular message boards are used to inform motorists.
I guess that's fairly common nowadays?
While it's a worldwide problem seems it's worse in the US? Odd.
https://swov.nl/en/fact/wrong-way-driving-how-many-casualties-are-due-wrong-way-driving
https://swov.nl/en/fact/wrong-way-driving-how-many-casualties-are-due-wrong-way-driving
Not really that odd when you look at the miles driven per driver and the requirements to get a drivers’ license.
These guys think folks in the US drive almost twice as much as folks in Europe.
https://frontiergroup.org/resources/fact-file-americans-drive-most/
Apparently there are also quite significant reporting differences.
So you've never seen the videos of people driving at high speeds on roads with nothing left of their tyres and wheels.
a set of flat tyres will not stop these drunk / drugged / moronic oxygen thieves.
a set of flat tyres will not stop these drunk / drugged / moronic oxygen thieves.
People. They are a constant source of disappointment.
You can't fix stupid. I just wish they could do a better job of working out who is that stupid and just not give them a license.
Just outside my town there is a "listed" bridge. It's an old, old bridge and the land owner got it listed so it can't be torn down (yet).
It's 11'3" but only across the centre 3m of the span, it's an arch bridge.
Currently on approach we have a "LOW BRIDGE AHEAD", bright yellow 1.5m x 1.5m, either side of the road. Then low bridge signs with the 11"3 and the sign showing it's an arch bridge. Then the bridge itself has more massive signs either side of it and the bridge itself has it's entire outline covered in reflective chevrons.
It STILL gets hit about 3 time a year. Mostly this occurs because something like a dumpster lorry aims to go through the centre, but an oncoming car does not yield and he has to jink to avoid the car and clip the bridge at 40mph.
What I'm hoping for is actually that the next lorry hits it hard enough to damage it to the point it's no longer safe, the road will be closed for 12 weeks while they either dismantle it or 6 months while they dig under it to raise it.
You can't fix stupid. I just wish they could do a better job of working out who is that stupid and just not give them a license.
Just outside my town there is a "listed" bridge. It's an old, old bridge and the land owner got it listed so it can't be torn down (yet).
It's 11'3" but only across the centre 3m of the span, it's an arch bridge.
Currently on approach we have a "LOW BRIDGE AHEAD", bright yellow 1.5m x 1.5m, either side of the road. Then low bridge signs with the 11"3 and the sign showing it's an arch bridge. Then the bridge itself has more massive signs either side of it and the bridge itself has it's entire outline covered in reflective chevrons.
It STILL gets hit about 3 time a year. Mostly this occurs because something like a dumpster lorry aims to go through the centre, but an oncoming car does not yield and he has to jink to avoid the car and clip the bridge at 40mph.
What I'm hoping for is actually that the next lorry hits it hard enough to damage it to the point it's no longer safe, the road will be closed for 12 weeks while they either dismantle it or 6 months while they dig under it to raise it.
Thousands die in car accidents every year. Few die with that particular cause. The cost of fixing it is high. So it's not been done.
In theory at least, self driving cars should fix it. Low bridges too 😉
In theory at least, self driving cars should fix it. Low bridges too 😉
LOL !
Way back, I was the sound guy for a little regional rock band. We had a 24 foot box truck (a Ford tilt-cab). Well, there was a small bridge in Madison, WI going over Park St, near the Stone Hearth bar. Our truck didn't fit under it. A couple of times, we'd accidentally get onto that section of Park street, and have to back up to the previous intersection. Those were the daze!
😳
They have automatic braking systems on many modern cars now. Make it activate the kill switch (And call the cops and tow truck to ticket the driver.) If there are traffic alert signs (on the proper side) have it update and warn drivers to use the next exit till the situation clears. “Idiot on exit 97 - use exit 98“.
One day I came across one of these fitted with a passenger car sat-nav.
The driver had gone under this bridge.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.297...4!1sK1Fur6JPUZkMnzSAVEs0pg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The wind break over the cab had only just gone under and the trailer had been dragged more than half way through.
Everything above the bed of the trailer was wrecked.
It must have been doing about 40mph.
If you navigate the streetview you will be able to see a rail with chains that knock on the roof. The driver must have been deaf too.
The driver had gone under this bridge.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.297...4!1sK1Fur6JPUZkMnzSAVEs0pg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The wind break over the cab had only just gone under and the trailer had been dragged more than half way through.
Everything above the bed of the trailer was wrecked.
It must have been doing about 40mph.
If you navigate the streetview you will be able to see a rail with chains that knock on the roof. The driver must have been deaf too.
