A look at efforts to prevent wrong-way crashes on local highways

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Imagine the terrifying feeling of driving on a highway at night and seeing the headlights of an oncoming car hit you. These are the types of wrong-way collisions that often result in death or serious injuries.

The New York State Department of Transportation has installed red no-entry signs on the ramps of Interstate 33 and other roads like Route 5 and, of course, the Thruway. But as we discovered, other states seem to be doing a lot more to try to prevent wrong-way accidents.

Last weekend on Rt. 33-Kensington Expressway, Buffalo police said a wrong-way collision just after midnight Saturday left a Cheektowaga driver seriously injured as his white SUV was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on Rt. 33. The North Carolina driver was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes and has since been charged with DUI, vehicular assault and other charges.

Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said: “It’s a three-lane highway and there are obviously guardrails on both sides, so if someone comes along it’s very difficult to react at those speeds. It’s a very unfortunate situation.”

And it has happened here in the West before. In 2023, a Tonawanda man was killed in a collision involving a wrong-way vehicle on Highway 190.

In 2022, another crash on Route 33 killed a Williamsville man who was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver.

There have also been wrong-way accidents with injuries on the Skyway and unfortunately, this has happened on the New York State Thruway.

Some obvious patterns are that they usually occur in the early morning hours and the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both, or even suicidal. This is a national problem with some terrifying videos in some cases. NBC News recently reported that wrong-way crashes are causing 400 deaths a year in the United States.

Observers believe the situation could get worse with the growing presence of legalized marijuana.

“It happens a lot more often than we actually think.”

Dr. Eric Jackson leads the Connecticut Transportation Institute at the University of Connecticut as a leading researcher on wrong-way crashes in his state. That’s where the January 2023 death of a state legislator caused by a wrong-way driver prompted his colleagues in the Legislature to allocate $40 million for new technologies like wrong-way signs on highway ramps with flashing red lights. The height is specifically adjusted to fit within the limited tunnel vision of an intoxicated driver. And the analysis of their effectiveness doesn’t stop there.

Jackson said, “For some signs, in some locations, they will call or connect to the state police to let them know that a vehicle has been detected going the wrong way so that the state police in that area can go try to find the wrong-way driver.”

Jackson adds: “They’ve already spotted drivers going the wrong way. They’ve already alerted them and turned them around. These are very effective systems for braking and stopping wrong-way driving.”

Other states like Texas and Florida have also used built-in road sensors, but obviously that may not work with our snowy winters.

Of course, stopping a drunk driver going the wrong way is not so easy for the police.

But warning other drivers of impending danger could be possible in the future thanks to technology developed by Michigan-based Bosch.

Jackson explains: “If it detects a wrong-way driver in an area, it can send a reverse Amber Alert or a message to all phones in the area to alert drivers that there is a wrong-way driver in the area and to use extreme caution.”

We reached out to the New York State Department of Transportation. In a statement, a spokesperson responded: “Safety is always the New York State Department of Transportation’s top priority, and we continually review the safety measures in place on all of our highways across the state, including those designed to deter wrong-way drivers. All of our roads meet or exceed state and federal standards for signage to deter wrong-way drivers, and additional signage is installed at the entrance to Route 33 from Genesee Street in Cheektowaga. We are constantly looking for new measures to improve safety where appropriate, including the use of technology. However, safety is everyone’s responsibility, and we recognize that impaired driving is a direct cause of many wrong-way driving accidents.” While we will continue to do our part to keep our roads safe, we urge all motorists to follow the rules of the road, drive responsibly and remain vigilant.”

The New York State Department of Transportation issued guidelines in 2021 and made adjustments to improve warning signs and use more lane markings, but so far nothing beyond what some other states are doing.

A lawmaker from Albany’s western New York delegation, who sits on the Transportation Committee, also does not recall any recent substantive discussions about methods for handling wrong-way crashes.