CHP data: Wrong-way crashes are extremely rare
KCRA 3 analyzes data from NTSB, CHP
A recent spike in the number of deadly wrong-way collisions on Northern California highways and interstates is a statistical aberration, based on years of data.
KCRA 3's investigative unit analyzed crash data from the National Transportation Safety Board and the California Highway Patrol and found such crashes are rare. According to the CHP, fewer than 0.1 percent of all state highway crashes involve a driver going the wrong way. Nationally, the figure is about 3 percent, an NTSB study showed.
However, wrong-way crashes are far more likely to result in death. Figures vary from state to state. A Caltrans study found drivers are 12 times more likely to die in a crash if one driver was going the wrong way.
That same federal study, which focused only on controlled-access highways, showed 60 percent of all wrong-way crashes had indications of alcohol involvement. And more often than not, those impaired drivers had Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) levels of .15 or higher. The legal limit is .08.
The CHP provided KCRA 3 with data on wrong-way crashes. Since 2011, there have been an average of 102 on California highways each year. Of those, an average of 54 percent involved a driver under the influence. An average of 17 drivers have died in wrong-way crashes during that period.
However, when there’s a fatality involved, the likelihood of a driver being under the influence jumps to 69 percent.
In its December 2012 report, the NTSB issued a number of suggestions for states to further prevent wrong-way crashes. They include:
-Placing more and different signs at ramps to make them distinctly different to drivers
-Adjusting highway designs, noting that Cloverleaf ramps had fewer wrong-way incidents
-Creating monitoring and intervention systems to find, track and stop wrong-way drivers
-Encouraging the auto industry to create in-vehicle alert systems when drivers are about to go the wrong direction.