CLEVELAND — Imagine you're driving and someone else is heading towards you in the wrong direction on the road. It's a situation no one wants to find themselves in, but so far in the last two days, there have been at least three wrong-way crashes in Northeast Ohio.
In those crucial, sudden moments, Lieutenant Carlos Smith, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Elyria Post, says drivers should pull over to the side of the road as quickly as possible.
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Smith encourages drivers to flash their headlights, beep their horn, anything that can help the wrong-way driver realize he or she is going the wrong way on the road.
Drivers who think they see lights coming towards them should trust their instincts and pull over as quickly and safely as possible.
Call 911 immediately and inform authorities where you spotted the wrong-way driver.
Smith says not all wrong-way drivers are intoxicated from alcohol or drugs. He says sometimes it could be a confused elderly driver or an inexperienced driver on the road.
Wrong way driver detection system
“Wrong way crashes are rare,” said Matt Bruning, ODOT Press Secretary. “But, when they happen, always very serious."
In late 2018, ODOT put up a second wrong way driver detection system. It is located at West 28th Street and the Shoreway. The first is in Columbus.
The system alerts police when a driver gets on the highway going the wrong way.
There had been several wrong way crashes with drivers getting on the Shoreway at West 28th Street.
Bruning said ODOT also looked at the number of bars in the area and the number of OVI arrests too.
He said alcohol is usually a factor in wrong way crashes.
