Wrong-way driving
Wrong-way driving, also known as contraflow driving, is the act of driving a motor vehicle against the direction of traffic. It can occur on either one- or two-way roads, as well as in parking lots and parking garages, and may be due to driver inattention or impairment, or because of insufficient or confusing road markings or signage, or a driver from a right-hand traffic country being unaccustomed to driving in a left-hand traffic country and vice versa. People intentionally drive in the wrong direction because they missed an exit, for thrill-seeking, or as a shortcut.
Wrong-way driving is particularly dangerous on a divided highway, especially a freeway; the higher speeds typical of such roads mean that wrong-way driving very often leads to a head-on collision. It is also evidenced by a number of videos that have been posted on the Internet showing the exact moment of wrong-way driving and subsequent head-on collisions. In the United States, about 355 people are killed each year in crashes caused by drivers headed in the wrong direction on the highway. Given an average of 265 fatal WWD crashes, 1.34 fatalities per WWD fatal crash can be calculated. The significance of this kind of crash is corroborated when this number is compared to the fatalities per fatal crash rate of 1.10 for all other crash types, which translates to 24 more fatalities per 100 fatal crashes for WWD crashes than for fatal crashes in general. Most drivers who enter a divided highway or ramp in the wrong direction correct themselves by turning around.
Depending on the jurisdiction, WWD is a punishable offense. In New Zealand, WWD is counted as careless driving and can result in up to 5 years imprisonment or a fine up to NZ$10,000, or both.
Efforts to reduce wrong-way driving
One of the aims of highway engineering is to reduce wrong-way driving. Therefore, many nations, including the U.S., Japan, and Canada, have made great efforts to combat this issue, especially in recent years.United States
National Transportation Safety Board's ''Highway Special Investigation Report''
The National Transportation Safety Board has published a special investigation report about wrong-way driving, in which relevant safety countermeasures to prevent wrong-way collisions on high-speed, divided highways are identified. One important part of this report is Section 4 which provides recommendations for different agencies, including Federal Highway Administration and NHTSA, to address wrong-way collisions.2013 National Wrong-Way Driving Summit
The first National Wrong-Way Driving Summit was held July 18 and 19, 2013, at the Morris University Center of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The purpose of this summit, sponsored by the Illinois Center for Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation, was to provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to exchange ideas, evaluate current countermeasures, and develop best practices to reduce wrong-way crashes and incidents through a 4E’s approach.To enhance the quality of this summit, a significant number of attendees were brought together to discuss various topics during individual presentations, as well as to take part in broader topical group discussions. Overall, approximately 130 attendees from 23 states participated in this summit, including from states that have already implemented and tested various countermeasures and those in which wrong-way driving has been found to be a major of concern.
Summit organizers also published the proceeding of the summit in May 2014 that contains all the presentations as well as the results of a survey questionnaire distributed to all the attendees to gather the latest information about the current practices for mitigating wrong-way driving issues. The proceedings of the Summit, along with additional research and investigation effort, resulted in the preparation and publication of the Guidelines for Reducing Wrong-Way Crashes on Freeways, a cooperative effort of IDOT, ICT, and FHWA.