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Driver Safety: Wrong-way drivers, not as uncommon as you may think.

By Steve Lombardi

A Buick Station Wagon being driven by Theodore Springman and a Dodge Dynasty driven by Rodney Fisher were involved in a head-on crash on I-380 in the northbound lanes of traffic. Springman was driving south in the northbound lanes of travel. The collision occurred around 1:00 P.M. yesterday, Friday, February 13, 2009. Both men were taken to Cedar Rapids’ St. Luke’s Hospital.

Spirngman is 82 years of age, Fisher 45. Of course one would start to investigate by looking at the age and Springman’s explanation of what he was doing in the northbound lanes of traffic. Sobriety will be analyzed as well. Of course age isn’t always the issue; confusion can be created by the highway signs along with the width of the divided highway.

Here a wrong-way driver of a semi-truck is believed to have a medical condition that caused him to be confused resulting in his driving on the wrong side of the highway, crashing and later died.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqyQmK4-Oq4

We’ve previously written on the subject of wrong-way drivers which are also referred to as ghost drivers. The crashes will normally occur just on or after the crest of a hill or rise that shields the oncoming vehicle from the view of the driver. I recently represented a widower whose wife did this in Story County, which unfortunately resulted in her death. It can happen to young and old drivers. Some divided highways are so wide and the median strip so wide that drivers get confused and believe it to be a two-lane roadway. Assumptions, especially the wrong ones, can kill you.

From the InjuryBoard

Interstate Highway Safety: Part I - Ghost drivers continue to be a problem on U.S. Interstate Highways

November 08, 2008 - 09:10 AM

Interstate Highway Safety - Ghost Drivers – Part II

November 09, 2008 - 09:16 AM

A wrong-way driver caught on a Texas Highway Patrol dash camera shows the police ignoring the offender as the patrol car keeps on going in the opposite direction.

January 6, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-Fmj-zi8Y

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 14, 2009 (boomark / email).