Police say ways to halt errant motorists few

18.05.12

When police receive a report about a wrong-way freeway driver like the one involved in a head-on collision on I-75 in Wood County early Friday, normal practice is to try to locate that driver and confine him or her, while taking whatever steps are practical to warn other motorists, an Ohio State Highway Patrol command officer said.

"There's no exact rules as to what you do," said Lt. John Altman, now on staff at district headquarters in Findlay and a past commander of the Toledo post.

But the most common initial responses, he said, are to "contact other law enforcement agencies" to deploy as much manpower as possible and "try and box the situation in as best you can."

What police and researchers have yet to find is an effective way to keep intoxicated or confused drivers -- along with the occasional deliberate troublemaker -- from entering the wrong side of divided highways in the first place, because time to stop them is precious.

The most commonly suggested remedy -- spike strips such as those used to stop auto theft at rental-car lots or payment evasion at parking garages -- was tried in California decades ago. It was declared a failure because the spikes, over time, began puncturing tires on traffic going the right way, a researcher told The Blade after an Oct. 15 wrong-way crash in Toledo in which a North Ontario Street man died.

Source: Toledo Blade