Can We Stop Wrong Way Drivers on Grand Rapids Expressways?

Alcohol, drugs, confusion? What is going on when a driver get's on a Grand Rapids expressway going the wrong way? It's happened way too often and it's a killer, literally!

AAA says that around the country there were 2,008 deaths from wrong-way driving crashes on divided highways between 2015 and 2018, approximately 500 deaths a year and that's totally unacceptable.

So, what can be done? Is there anything that we can do to stop these crazy accidents from happening?

Well, here in Grand Rapids, MDOT is partnering with the Michigan State Police and The City of Grand Rapids to reduce the chances of wrong-way driving.

Detection systems will be added at interchange off ramps along US-131 between Ann Street and 28th Street to warn drivers they are going the wrong way. A series of lights will flash on the wrong way signs, cameras will start rolling, and the police and emergency responders will be alerted.

The city has identified this 6-mile section of US-131 as the highest concentration of traffic, bars, nightlife, and other entertainment areas and where it seems most wrong way driving has begun in the past.

Already this system is in place at the northbound US-131 off ramp to Cherry Street and the northbound US-131 off ramp (Hynes Avenue) to Hall Street.

It would seem to me that the addition of additional systems can't come soon enough!