SPRINGDALE (KFSM) - Investigators with the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department are checking entrance and exit ramps on Interstate 49 following two accidents involving wrong-way drivers happened in the last week and a half.
Last Wednesday (Jan. 14), Arkansas State Police said a 71-year-old man drove the wrong way onto I-49 at Exit 81 in Rogers. They said he died when he hit another vehicle head-on.
A similar incident happened Thursday (Jan. 22) in Springdale, when police said a woman got on the interstate at U.S. 412 going north in the southbound lanes. State police said she hit an SUV that rolled multiple times. Both drivers walked away with minor injuries, according to police.
State highway spokesperson Danny Straessle said investigators have checked the ramps at both exits to make sure the proper signage was in place. Neither ramp was improperly marked.
Straessle said federal regulations require the highway department to post one one-way sign, do not enter sign, and wrong way sign at every ramp. He said the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department's policy is to double that, in case a sign is knocked down.
He said in addition to the warning signs, the reflectors in the middle of the lane appear red when drivers are going the wrong direction.
"The red kind of connotates there's something wrong stop, don't go this way, so if you get on the interstate going the wrong way it will light up with red reflection, indicating you are going the wrong way on the interstate," Straessle said.
Straessle said spike strips may seem like a viable solution, but are impractical because of the rate of speed getting off the interstate.
"Your vehicle is still going to hit that metal spike strip pretty hard, and there's likely to be damage to your vehicle," Straessle said.
Officials said they had 10 wrong way accidents in 2012, and that it's rare to have two accidents in a span of eight days. Straessle said they routinely check ramps to make sure all the warning signs are present, and always investigate after a wrong way incident.