Wrong-Way Crashes On The Rise In San Diego, Here's How To Avoid Them

On Friday morning (June 4) two San Diego Police Department detectives were killed in a wrong-way collision, reports NBC7.

It was the third wrong-way crash in San Diego County that week.

According to Caltrans, around 40 Californians are killed in misdirection crashes every year. That number has increased over the last decade. State officials are trying to find a cause for the rising trend.

An AAA study released in March reported 2,008 deaths in wrong-way highway crashes between 2015 and 2018 with an average of around 500 deaths per year.

The study also revealed that 60% of these wrong-way crashes involved a driver with a Blood-Alcohol Content higher than .08.

"Alcohol impairment, by far the most common reason, older age among drivers and then drivers driving by themselves without passengers who can help alert them. Those are the three primary factors, why these wrong-way crashes are happening,” AAA spokesman Doug Shupe told NBC7.

To avoid more of these crashes, AAA urges drivers to stay focused on the road ahead.

“If we do see something coming our way, it’s important that we slow down and move off the freeway as far to the right of the roadway or the freeway as we possibly can,” said Shupe. “You also want to make sure you’re flashing your headlights, honking your horn, trying to get that drivers attention to let them know they’re going the wrong way. What you don’t want to do is suddenly swerve out of the way or slam on your brakes which could cause an accident.”

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