Ariz. agencies combine to fight wrong-way driving

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Updated Jan 1, 2018
Crews install Arizona’s first-of-its-kind wrong way detection system in August. Photo: ADOTCrews install Arizona’s first-of-its-kind wrong way detection system in August. Photo: ADOT

Several Arizona state agencies have joined together to launch a campaign to stop wrong-way driving.

The “Drive Aware, Get There” campaign is a joint effort among the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

The public awareness effort follows the state’s deployment of thermal camera detection technology in Phoenix. The $3.7 million system was the first of its kind in the United States. It uses overhead message boards to alert wrong-way drivers, and the cameras alert state troopers.

“This public awareness effort will provide drivers with information to increase their safety when driving at night and understand what to do in the event of an encounter with a wrong-way driver,” says Governor Doug Ducey.

The ADOT offers this advice if confronted by a wrong-way driver:

  • If you’re on a divided highway and you see a vehicle coming toward you, slow down by easing your foot off the gas.
  • Make sure there’s no vehicle next to you and steer away from the wrong-way driver.
  • Get to a safe place, call 911 and report the wrong-way driver.

And if you should suddenly see a wrong-way sign staring you in the face, the ADOT says you should “safely move toward the nearest highway exit on the right side of the highway as soon as possible.”

For more information on “Drive Aware, Get There,” go to azdot.gov/wrongway.