Wrong Way drivers in Phoenix (Maricopa: home, live in, law)

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Minntoaz

It's that everything looks the same. On and off ramps are just simple nothing to really differentiate so I can see how compared to most major cities it'd be more common. Also the highways don't have many landmarks so it's not like a person would automatically know based on any landmark it's the wrong way. Plus dementia.

Calling BS. It would take extra effort to go the wrong way on the freeway here, and you would notice you're on the wrong side of the road unless you were so intoxicated, but then how'd you navigate to get yourself in that position?

[corydon]

And guess what, when the yellow line is to the right, something is wrong.....

[Kcoble7]

There are some tips that can't prevent, but significantly reduce the chances of you being in a wrong-way crash.

1. Most wrong-way accidents occur at night, between 5 p.m and 5 a.m, when visibility is low and an increase in drunk drivers on the road. So you might want to avoid the freeway during those hours if you can.

2. Stay OUT of the passing/hov/left lane, especially at night. Most wrong-way drivers use this lane because since they are going the wrong-way they think it is the right/slow lane.

3. Always look ahead of you. Don't get distracted by anything. Sometimes you can see it coming.

4.Some interesting facts I found is due to more lax driving laws and more drunk drivers, southern and western freeways have much more wrong-way drivers than northern and eastern freeways. Also, due to shorter days and more people drinking, 69% of wrong-way crashes occur between October and February.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Kcoble7

There are some tips that can't prevent, but significantly reduce the chances of you being in a wrong-way crash.

1. Most wrong-way accidents occur at night, between 5 p.m and 5 a.m, when visibility is low and an increase in drunk drivers on the road. So you might want to avoid the freeway during those hours if you can.

2. Stay OUT of the passing/hov/left lane, especially at night. Most wrong-way drivers use this lane because since they are going the wrong-way they think it is the right/slow lane.

3. Always look ahead of you. Don't get distracted by anything. Sometimes you can see it coming.

4.Some interesting facts I found is due to more lax driving laws and more drunk drivers, southern and western freeways have much more wrong-way drivers than northern and eastern freeways. Also, due to shorter days and more people drinking, 69% of wrong-way crashes occur between October and February.

But according to DUI penalty rankings, Arizona is actually one of the strictest for DUI laws. So point #4 doesn't really make sense for us.

I also don't know of any data being tracked on wrong way drivers, do we have any idea when and where this is happening most?

https://wallethub.com/edu/dui-penalties-by-state/13549/

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by locolife

But according to DUI penalty rankings, Arizona is actually one of the strictest for DUI laws. So point #4 doesn't really make sense for us.

I also don't know of any data being tracked on wrong way drivers, do we have any idea when and where this is happening most?

https://wallethub.com/edu/dui-penalties-by-state/13549/

Laws don't stop the kind of people who get in wrong way accidents. They have BACs 2-4 times the legal limit because you need to be around a .20 before you go the wrong way on a freeway and not realize it instantly. These are the people who have a serious drinking problem to the point they don't care about the law.

Maybe soon we will see cars that can either warn or immobilize when a driver goes on an off ramp. Cars today are smart enough to determine that even if the driver is too drunk to.

[jimj]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I think this has a lot to do with cloverleaf off/on ramps that many states have vs what AZ has.
Take CA for example, when you get off a freeway and continue to go under an overpass then make a right turn you're getting back on the freeway in the opposite direction. In AZ you'd be going the wrong way. I think when someone is impaired either due to lack of sleep or DUI this could make it harder to realize where you are and revert back to old traffic habits.
I'd bet that has a whole bunch to do with what's going on.
I know when I first moved here it was very unnatural for me to turn left to get on a freeway.

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by jimj

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I think this has a lot to do with cloverleaf off/on ramps that many states have vs what AZ has.
Take CA for example, when you get off a freeway and continue to go under an overpass then make a right turn you're getting back on the freeway in the opposite direction. In AZ you'd be going the wrong way. I think when someone is impaired either due to lack of sleep or DUI this could make it harder to realize where you are and revert back to old traffic habits.
I'd bet that has a whole bunch to do with what's going on.
I know when I first moved here it was very unnatural for me to turn left to get on a freeway.

I've thought this for a while myself. Also, at many highway entrances where you need to make a left, the left turn lanes start before the exit ramp and there is a light at the exit ramp. I can see how a drunk or otherwise impaired driver could incorrectly make a left at the first light and end up getting on the exit ramp.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Laws don't stop the kind of people who get in wrong way accidents. They have BACs 2-4 times the legal limit because you need to be around a .20 before you go the wrong way on a freeway and not realize it instantly. These are the people who have a serious drinking problem to the point they don't care about the law.

Maybe soon we will see cars that can either warn or immobilize when a driver goes on an off ramp. Cars today are smart enough to determine that even if the driver is too drunk to.

Agree 100%. A person needs to be smashed way beyond the legal limit to not realize very quickly they are driving the wrong way... all of the "Wrong Way" signs in your face, the red reflectors embedded in the road, all of the cars driving the other direction. I don't care how confusing an interchange is, someone with half of their wits will realize it before the accelerate to highway speed. These people are driving in the wrong direction for many miles in some cases.


Also way too many people driving on suspended licenses, with no license, with no insurance. Seems like there should be a better system than what we have today.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by jimj

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but I think this has a lot to do with cloverleaf off/on ramps that many states have vs what AZ has.
Take CA for example, when you get off a freeway and continue to go under an overpass then make a right turn you're getting back on the freeway in the opposite direction. In AZ you'd be going the wrong way. I think when someone is impaired either due to lack of sleep or DUI this could make it harder to realize where you are and revert back to old traffic habits.
I'd bet that has a whole bunch to do with what's going on.
I know when I first moved here it was very unnatural for me to turn left to get on a freeway.

Originally Posted by johnp292

I've thought this for a while myself. Also, at many highway entrances where you need to make a left, the left turn lanes start before the exit ramp and there is a light at the exit ramp. I can see how a drunk or otherwise impaired driver could incorrectly make a left at the first light and end up getting on the exit ramp.

Arizona is a state where people come here from many other states and places in the world. These people will drive around the way they were conditioned to driving where they came from.

One example is the RAF airmen from the British Isles who come here to train at our air force bases. Brits have been conditioned to drive (or have been driven as passengers) in vehicles wherein the drivers sat on the right side of the vehicle and drove on left lanes. These lads & lassies were accustomed to boarding a bus or van from the left side (as passengers) and continually had to correct themselves when in Arizona, and other places in America. It would be even worse if they were impaired.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by Colt Cassidy

One example is the RAF airmen from the British Isles who come here to train at our air force bases. Brits have been conditioned to drive (or have been driven as passengers) in vehicles wherein the drivers sat on the right side of the vehicle and drove on left lanes. These lads & lassies were accustomed to boarding a bus or van from the left side (as passengers) and continually had to correct themselves when in Arizona, and other places in America. It would be even worse if they were impaired.

Having been to many places around the world that drive on the left (Hong Kong, Thailand, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands) I even noticed people walking on the sidewalk will tend to stay to the left, where as in the US people tend to stay to the right in the direction they are walking.