There are certainly some wrong-way drivers who are not impaired, often on smaller roads. For instance, a driver may unexpectedly come upon a small one-way road while driving through the city and accidentally turn in the wrong direction. This could cause a low-speed collision or general traffic congestion and confusion. But it may just be because the driver isn’t familiar with the area, they got poor instructions from a GPS or something of this nature.
Where the most dangerous wrong-way crashes happen is on the interstate. Traffic is supposed to be divided and heading in different directions, which makes it safe to drive at 70 mph. But if someone is driving the wrong way, they run the risk of causing a serious accident at a combined 140 mph – or more.
These accidents should never happen
Roads have been designed to prevent these accidents. Drivers use on-ramps and offramps to access the highway, and there are signs instructing them about which ramp they are supposed to use and which direction to travel. Once the drivers are on the freeway, there are physical barriers, like a median or a concrete divider, and drivers are not supposed to use the access roads between the two sides of the highway.
But this is the problem with drunk driving: Those safety systems don’t work. If a driver is impaired, they may not understand that they are driving in the wrong direction or taking the wrong ramp. They may not see the wrong-way signs. They just continue driving in the wrong direction until they cause a severe crash.
For other drivers, these accidents are often very hard to avoid. It’s important for them to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills and other costs.