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Perhaps a little data first. . .I mean - the only time I've seen someone drive the wrong way down a divided freeway is in a movie.
Unless you're drinking some serious firewater out in Albuquerque I seriously doubt this is a pressing issue. It's actually really hard to end up the wrong way on a divided freeway - even blotto.
Actually around these parts it's more likely to be ocean water than firewater. And while these fast, head-on collisions aren't the most common, whenever I hear of one that happens on the interstate it's pretty much a given that the crash is fatal.
I think if you manage to miss the big "DO NOT ENTER" sign on the off-ramp to a freeway, you'd just miss the arrows as well. The only head on collision I've been involved in was because of driving 100 mph over a bump in the road resulting in the driver losing control and spinning out into oncoming traffic.
I think if you manage to miss the big "DO NOT ENTER" sign on the off-ramp to a freeway, you'd just miss the arrows as well. The only head on collision I've been involved in was because of driving 100 mph over a bump in the road resulting in the driver losing control and spinning out into oncoming traffic.
That very well might be true in some instances, but sometimes even those big, overhead signs can be overlooked, especially if you're distracted by something else happening on the ground level. Ever miss a freeway exit, even while actively looking for the signs that tell you when to exit?
In the article nei referenced, the woman drove the wrong way 1.7 miles before crahing into the oncoming vehicle. The wrong way sign was in her range of vision probably 20-30 seconds at most, but after that there probably wasn't much indication of her error. And even though she was drunk and stoned, she had a few of the passengers in the car who either also hadn't noticed or weren't able to warn her in time.
That very well might be true in some instances, but sometimes even those big, overhead signs can be overlooked, especially if you're distracted by something else happening on the ground level. Ever miss a freeway exit, even while actively looking for the signs that tell you when to exit?
In the article nei referenced, the woman drove the wrong way 1.7 miles before crahing into the oncoming vehicle. The wrong way sign was in her range of vision probably 20-30 seconds at most, but after that there probably wasn't much indication of her error. And even though she was drunk and stoned, she had a few of the passengers in the car who either also hadn't noticed or weren't able to warn her in time.
No.
The only time I've missed my freeway exits is when I was in freeway zombie mode, and even then 9/10 I somehow manage to get it right. It's really pretty disturbing not even remembering driving for 30 miles and suddenly "waking up" as you're going around the off-ramp turn. Back when I was 16-17 and didn't know the Bay Area freeways, I guess. I always knew where my exit was, I was just in the wrong lane. Like I'd be in the right lane but the freeway I wanted split to the left in a mile and I couldn't get across three lanes of traffic. Now I know the freeways better and I'm not as nervous forcing my way over as I was when I first started driving.
Again - the question needs to be tailored to divided freeways. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of head on collisions are not on divided freeways. I'm also guessing that a substantial number of head on collisions on divided freeways are the result of someone crossing the median in which case your proposal makes no difference.
Until you identify there is an actual need for this - I don't think it goes anywhere.
It's actually facing against traffic. To the left is a bike lane and to the right is a shoulder.
Actually yea, yellow lines are on the left aren't they? I've been watching a lot of British shows where they dive on the left and it's confused me for a bit.
But anyway, the one incident I saw an old lady drive down the wrong way was on this road.
It seemed like she was travelling east and made too early of a left. But there's very clearly signs and even directional arrows for the oncoming traffic on which way to go. The thing was, there was on-coming traffic but luckily it's a low-speed road and she was going probably 10 MPH looking confused out of her mind. She went the whole half-mile down on the wrong side until she got to the light and eventually went through the turn around to get in the right direction.
I sort of figured something else was going other than her just being confused (she did look pretty old), but nonetheless, there was enough warning, IMO, that an otherwise alert person would have easily been able to tell the were going the wrong way. Unless there were spike-strips or something, I don't think this incident could have been prevented. There's only so much you can do to guard against human error other than removing the human (that is to say, people who are unable to drive sufficiently shouldn't drive).
In the article nei referenced, the woman drove the wrong way 1.7 miles before crahing into the oncoming vehicle. The wrong way sign was in her range of vision probably 20-30 seconds at most, but after that there probably wasn't much indication of her error. And even though she was drunk and stoned, she had a few of the passengers in the car who either also hadn't noticed or weren't able to warn her in time.
If she couldn't notice oncoming traffic for 1.7 miles, do you think directional arrows would make a difference?
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