BUFFALO, N.Y. — Imagine the terrifying feeling of driving at night on a highway and then seeing headlights from an oncoming car coming right at you. That is the situation with wrong-way collisions which often turn out to be deadly or cause very serious injuries.
New York State DOT has posted red-wrong-way signs on-ramps for the 33 Expressway and other roadways like Route 5 and of course, the Thruway has them. But as we found out other states seem to be doing much more to try to prevent wrong-way crashes.
This past weekend on the Rt. 33 - Kensington Expressway, Buffalo Police say a wrong-way collision on Saturday just after midnight seriously injured a driver from Cheektowaga as he was driving his white SUV which was struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on the 33. That driver from North Carolina was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes and has since been charged with DWI, vehicular assault, and other charges.
Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said "It's a three-lane highway and obviously you got the jersey barriers on both sides so if someone's coming around, it's very difficult to be able to react at those speeds. It's a very unfortunate situation."
And it has happened before here in Western. In 2023 a Tonawanda man was killed by a wrong-way driver collision on the 190 highway.
In 2022 a crash again on the 33 killed a Williamsville man struck head-on by a wrong-way driver.
There have also been wrong-way crashes with injuries on the Skyway and unfortunately, it has happened on the New York State Thruway.
Some obvious patterns - usually occur in the early morning hours and a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs or both or even suicidal tendencies. It is a nationwide problem with terrifying videos in some cases. NBC News recently reported a wrong-way death toll of about 400 people a year in the U.S.
Observers say it may be getting worse with the greater presence of legalized marijuana.
"This occurs a lot more often than we actually know."
Dr. Eric Jackson heads up the Connecticut Transportation Institute at the University of Connecticut as a leading researcher on wrong-way crashes in his state. That is where the January 2023 death of a state lawmaker from a wrong-way driver spurred his legislature colleagues to allocate 40 million dollars for new technology like wrong-way signs at highway ramps with flashing red lights. The height is specifically adjusted to be within the limited tunnel vision of an impaired driver. And there is more to the analysis of their effectiveness.
Jackson says "For certain signs, certain locations they'll actually dial or connect with the state police to let them know a vehicle has been detected going in the wrong direction so state police in the area can go and try to track down and find the wrong way driver."
Jackson adds "They've already caught drivers going the wrong way. They've already alerted them and turned them around. They are very effective systems at curbing and stopping wrong-way driving."
Other states like Texas and Florida also used embedded road sensors but obviously, that may not work with our snowy winters.
Of course, stopping a drunk wrong way driver is not that simple for police.
But warning other drivers of the oncoming danger may be feasible in the future with technology being developed by the Bosch Company in Michigan.
Jackson explains "If it detects a wrong-way driver in an area it could do a reverse Amber Alert or a message that goes out to all phones in the area to alert drivers that there is a wrong-way driver in the area and to be extra cautious"
We reached out to the New York State Department of Transportation. In a statement, a spokesman responded "Safety is always the top priority of the New York State Department of Transportation, and we continuously review safety measures in place on all our highways across the state – including those to deter wrong-way drivers. All our roadways meet or exceed state and federal standards for signage to deter wrong-way driving and additional signage is installed at the entrance to Route 33 from Genesee Street in Cheektowaga. We are constantly looking into new measures to enhance safety where applicable, including the use of technology. However, safety is everyone’s responsibility, and what we find is that impaired driving is directly attributable to many wrong-way driving accidents. While we will continue to do our part to ensure the safety of our roadways, we urge all motorists to obey the rules of the road, drive responsibly, and remain alert."
The New York State DOT did put out guidance in 2021 and made adjustments to enhance warning signs and use more pavement markings but so far nothing else like some of the other states are doing.
A lawmaker from the Western New York delegation in Albany who sits on the Transportation Committee also does not recall any recent substantial discussions about methods to deal with wrong-way crashes.