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Old 09-20-2017, 08:08 AM   #1
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Scary moment

Towing across NY yesterday on I-86, I was in the slow lane minding my own business. Looked ahead and thought, does that car ahead have a broken tail light lens as it is white? OH NO! It is the headlight of a car coming at me. A car rolling down the interstate going the wrong way! I hit the brakes and pulled onto the shoulder, checked my rear view mirror and saw that fortunately no one was behind me in the fast lane. The vehicles behind me were also pulling off onto the shoulder.
The wrong way driver drove right past all of us and kept going.
WOW. I hope no one was killed or injured by that person. We were about a mile from the closest interchange. I wonder how long that car had been going the wrong way.
Don't need to ever experience that again.
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Old 09-20-2017, 08:25 AM   #2
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It seems to happen a lot, especially in more rural areas. Drunks, mostly.

Glad it ended ok.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:17 AM   #3
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My scary moment came last July. I was eastbound on I-40 just outside of Gallup. I was in the middle lane, at speed, and there was construction on the on-ramp and some traffic built up behind a semi that was waiting to enter the hghway. Just as I approach the ramp, a pickup truck pulls around the semi, right onto the freeway, right into my lane, a mere 50 yards in front of me.

There was no option to swerve. All my brakes, tiedowns, packing, heart, etc got a severe test in that moment, and I swore I-40 off my list of roads.

Here in Arizona, we have a serious problem with wrong-way drivers, and in the past year or so some pretty nasty collisions. It's so bad, that sensors are being installed at off-ramps.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:22 AM   #4
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I vote for wrong way spike strip to be installed on-ramps and off-ramps. Blow the tires of who ever is making the mistake.

Better breaking tires than other people's lives in my opinion.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:27 AM   #5
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I vote for wrong way spike strip to be installed on-ramps and off-ramps. Blow the tires of who ever is making the mistake.

Better breaking tires than other people's lives in my opinion.
Hmmm... Treddle strips... Got my vote. I'm sure the liability is outrageous, though.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:29 AM   #6
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I vote for wrong way spike strip to be installed on-ramps and off-ramps. Blow the tires of who ever is making the mistake.

Better breaking tires than other people's lives in my opinion.
Good idea.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:32 AM   #7
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Tom & Renée- glad you got past that one safely !!!

We just rolled a chunk of NY I-86 a couple times these past three weeks ... grateful we missed on that fine driver, indeed.

As we were hanging out with our friends in New York, they had stories to share about the number of broad daylight - morning hours - drunk / influenced / insane drivers - and how there seem to be more lately than ever.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:34 AM   #8
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We had a tragic accident similar to that here recently.

An elderly gentleman with Alzheimer's entered a four lane going the correct direction but then witnesses said he turned at a cross-over and went the wrong direction.
He hit someone head on and killed them but wasn't injured badly himself.

While it was his fault, he didn't have the ability to know he was in the wrong lane. Drunk/influenced/insane had nothing to do with this. He admitted he thought he was two towns over.

I'm not sure what the solution is. The spike strips wouldn't have helped in this case.

All we can do is try to be as alert as possible.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:04 AM   #9
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My encounter with a wrong way driver occurred a few years ago on I-94 near Ann Arbor, MI at around 3:30 in the afternoon. On my way home from work, it was one of my scarier driving events, but it didn't end there.

The wrong way driver was supposedly having a diabetic moment and didn't realize he was going the wrong way. I saw him coming and fortunately was able to move over in a split second with no one next to me. I heard he "offset impacted" a driver in the left lane about a half mile behind me with minor injuries.

Twenty minutes later, different highway, exiting into a roundabout, I encountered another driver going the wrong way through the roundabout. I count my blessings every day.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:07 AM   #10
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Ems and fire uses the ramps quite frequently in the wrong direction for better access to he mvc. So the spikes would have to be narrow or a wide enough lane to the side to get around w heavy equipment
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:49 AM   #11
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My two closest calls were both on Route 15, Thurmont,MD around 3:30 in the afternoon. Rounding a slight curve I was passing a semi when I had a station wagon coming right at me. The semi and I nailed our brakes. He went to the shoulder and I hugged his trailer for dear life. That was just enough room to mis the wagon.

The other time was just above Thurmont on a flat, straight section where I saw a 5er on the right shoulder. I moved to the left lane to give him room. He decided he wanted to make a u-turn. With the trailer and a long bed, crew cab I had no where to go. I was 8 inches away from creating a new doorway.

The time of day or type of vehicle don't matter.
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Old 09-20-2017, 11:54 AM   #12
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Ems and fire uses the ramps quite frequently in the wrong direction for better access to he mvc. So the spikes would have to be narrow or a wide enough lane to the side to get around w heavy equipment
Good point that I didn't think of.
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:20 PM   #13
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:37 PM   #14
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I hear of wrong way drivers here in NC every so often, it's normally someone that doesn't know english or impaired (dementia or driving under the influence) it really doesn't matter it's still a scary situation. Rachel and I are glad you and Renee are okay
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Old 09-20-2017, 12:41 PM   #15
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I didn't realize this was so "common". I figured my wrong way driver was drunk- it was later at night on the Baltimore Beltway. They came down the entrance ramp and made a left! They startedup toward us on the 4 lane highway. Fortunately for me there wasn't an imminent danger- I saw them from a bit of distance and had multiple lanes between them and me.
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Old 09-20-2017, 02:44 PM   #16
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Yep, we've had 3 of them in the last 2 years in NW Ohio. 2 of which were fatal...and that's just the ones that were reported or wrecked.
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Old 09-22-2017, 09:18 AM   #17
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Just before gramps stopped driving many years ago, I called his car phone to warn him about a news report that a driver that was going the wrong way down the freeway.

"ONE driver?!", he yelled, "There's HUNDREDS of 'em!"


Tom and Renée, glad you're okay!
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Old 09-22-2017, 12:25 PM   #18
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I vote for wrong way spike strip to be installed on-ramps and off-ramps. Blow the tires of who ever is making the mistake.



Better breaking tires than other people's lives in my opinion.


Sometimes emergency responders need to enter highways via off ramps to get to accident scenes. Spikes will add delay to response times.

Traffic is usually stopped before they enter the highway on the wrong side.
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Old 09-22-2017, 01:15 PM   #19
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Twenty minutes later, different highway, exiting into a roundabout, I encountered another driver going the wrong way through the roundabout. I count my blessings every day.
Very likely was British.
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Old 09-22-2017, 01:22 PM   #20
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The ones who scare me are the ones going the right way down the freeway , but weaving all over because they are fiddling with their phone.
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