LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — In seven years, there have been nearly 200 wrong-way crashes on Kentucky highways, and dozens of people have been killed or seriously injured.
That’s why the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet hopes a new technology it’s testing will help save lives.
A wrong-way driver can change many lives in an instant. In November, a crash on the Gene Snyder took the life of Jayniyah Pullen, a 20-year-old nursing student at UofL.
This crash is just one of many wrong-way accidents on Kentucky highways. To change the trend, KYTC testing begins this weekend on new contraflow driving technology in Lexington.
“In an effort to get all of our Kentucky families home safely, safety is of course our top priority,” said Morgan Woodrum, spokesperson for KYTC’s 5th District.
After the testing period, it will then be deployed on Louisville highways.
Here’s how it works: when a car is detected traveling on the exit ramp, a deterrent system is triggered. This will include flashing wrong-way signs and real-time system-generated alerts.
“And this technology will also alert other drivers and first responders,” Woodrum said.
Further down the road, more drivers will be warned to exercise extreme caution when a wrong-way driver is detected.
“Detection and deterrence technology will be installed at exits facing the wrong direction,” Woodrum said. “In order to capture the attention of the wrong-way driver before taking the main line of the motorway.”
KYTC said the technology will be installed on more than 50 exit ramps in Louisville and will monitor 32 miles of highway.
The highway sections chosen by the agency include: the Watterson Expressway, from Interstate 64 to Interstate 65; I-64 from the Ohio River to Pee Wee Reese Road; I-65 from Ohio to the Outer Loop.
“The project locations were actually based on accident history and that was at the time of the grant submission,” Woodrum said.
Kentucky received a federal grant of more than $5 million to improve highway safety. From 2015 to 2023, 55 people were killed and 76 were seriously injured in 191 wrong-way crashes across the state.
The new technology will be unveiled in Louisville sometime in 2025, but the exact date has not yet been determined.
As part of KYTC’s wrong-way driving technology, a deterrent system will be triggered when a car is detected traveling on an exit ramp. It includes flashing wrong-way signs and real-time, system-generated alerts. Further down the road, more drivers will be warned to exercise extreme caution when a wrong-way driver is detected. (KYTC chart)
Related storys:
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.