We know that interventions like ignition interlock devices for all offenders and high-visibility enforcement operations will reduce these types of devastating crashes.”Īn alcohol ignition interlock device prevents a vehicle from starting until the driver provides a breath sample that registers below a pre-set low limit, usually around a BAC of. ![]() “The important work done by AAA shows that we need to redouble our efforts to address this safety hazard. “Alcohol impairment is, by far, the single most significant factor in the majority of wrong-way driving crashes, which unfortunately has not changed since the NTSB issued its Wrong-Way Driving special investigation report in 2012,” said NTSB Director of the Office of Highway Safety, Dr. Impairment in transportation is not limited to just alcohol it also includes impairment by other drugs-legal or illicit. The list identifies the top safety improvements that can prevent crashes, minimize injuries, and save lives. Impairment is on the NTSB’s MOST WANTED LIST of Transportation Safety Improvements which is the agency’s premier advocacy tool. Those with blood alcohol concentrations over the legal limit of 0.08 g/dl* were significantly more likely to be wrong-way drivers than non-alcohol-impaired drivers involved in the same crashes.īlood Alcohol Concentration (g/dl) No. Six in ten wrong-way crashes involved an alcohol-impaired driver. Researchers examined eight factors related to these types of crashes, and three stood out – alcohol-impairment, older age, and driving without a passenger. In light of these latest research findings, AAA and the NTSB are urging state transportation agencies to adopt driver-based countermeasures that address these factors, such as alcohol ignition interlocks, strengthened deterrence strategies like sobriety checkpoints, driver refresher courses for older adults and the installation of more-visible signs and signals.Īlcohol-impairment, older age, and driving without a passenger increase risks of wrong-way crashes “And unfortunately, as the data shows, fatalities from these crashes are on the rise.”ĪAA works with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other traffic safety organizations to educate drivers on the deadly impact of wrong-way driving. David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Wrong-way crashes on divided highways are often fatal as they are typically head-on collisions,” said Dr. Officers reported that the driver’s blood alcohol level was two and a half times the legal limit. In January, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, a 32 year-old Petersburg woman was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in a 2020 wrong-way crash on I-95 in Chesterfield County that killed two people, including a one year-old child. ![]() According to Virginia State Police, the Dodge Avenger slammed into a pick-up truck head-on, killing the driver of the Avenger, a passenger in the Avenger and the driver of the pickup truck. Just last week, three people were killed in a wrong-way crash when a driver, fleeing from Virginia State Police during a chase on I-95, entered the express lanes the wrong way in Northern Virginia. Researchers found that the odds of being a wrong-way driver increased with alcohol-impairment, older age, and driving without a passenger. That’s up 10 % from the 2010 to 2014 time period when 10 people were killed, on average, per year in wrong-way crashes. That is up 34% from the 375 deaths annually from 2010 to 2014. In Virginia, between 20, approximately 11 people were killed annually in wrong-way crashes. According to the latest data analysis from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there were 2,008 deaths from wrong-way driving crashes on divided highways between 20, an average of approximately 500 deaths a year. RICHMOND, VA (March 23, 2021)–Fatal wrong-way driving crashes on our nation’s highways are a persistent and devastating threat that is only getting worse. Mar 23, 2021, AAA MidAtlantic News Release
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