While wrong-way driving crashes occur randomly and less frequently than other types of crashes, they often involve more than one vehicle and can result in multiple fatalities and/or serious injuries.
Prior to implementation, FDOT conducted statewide studies and various research projects to help analyze WWD trends and contributing factors, determine the effectiveness of various countermeasures, and test those countermeasures. Additional research FDOT conducted focused on addressing the factors that were considered to affect the occurrence of WWD incidents: Impaired drivers, drivers 65 years and older, and tourists.
During FDOT’s statewide study, off-ramps were identified that could be associated with higher rates of WWD entries. FDOT evaluated several countermeasures from the research projects and found the light-emitting Diode (LED) highlighted wrong way sign to be one of the most effective. These enhanced highway sign assemblies are part of the wrong-way driving alert system designed to:
- Detect when vehicles are traveling in the wrong direction
- Activate the lights on the sign to notify the driver
- Send an immediate alert to officials
- Broadcast an alert on electronic message boards to alert upstream drivers
Florida’s WWD network now spans a wide range of highways, from interstates like I-4, I-95, and I-275 to major toll routes like the Turnpike and Sawgrass. Visit the interactive TechTracker map to see where they are located.
The WWD initiative supports FDOT’s Target Zero commitment to reducing the number of transportation-related fatalities and serious injuries to ZERO.