It’s a terrifying sight: You’re rushing down the highway at 65 mph and you suddenly realize that there are headlights coming toward you. There’s a wrong-way driver in your lane.
This doesn’t happen often. When it does, however, the results can be devastating.
The vast majority of wrong-way wrecks involve drunk drivers
Government data indicates that the vast majority of wrong-way wrecks involve alcohol. In many cases, drivers aren’t just slightly intoxicated, either. Data indicates that roughly 59% of drivers who cause wrong-way wrecks have a blood alcohol content (BAC) that is twice the legal limit or higher at the time.
Take, for example, what happened the week before Christmas, 2020, when a wrong-way driver caused multiple crashes on 1-45 outside of Dallas. While everyone survived the wreck, they also landed in the hospital — including the 43-year-old male driver who started events in motion.
That driver was also charged with three counts of intoxication assault because he was driving drunk — which is all-too-typical of these kinds of incidents.
Wrong-way accidents can also arise from inexperience or confusion
Other wrong-way drivers may end up mistaking off-ramps for on-ramps simply because they are tired, distracted, inexperienced or unfamiliar with the roads on which they are driving. Once they get on the road, they may panic and not know what to do to correct their course — or they may simply not realize what they’ve done until they’re already on a collision course with another vehicle.
If you’re the victim of a wrong-way driver, you may be facing extensive medical bills, lost wages and more. Head-on collisions tend to be particularly destructive. Make sure that you have someone on your side to fight for your rights against the insurance companies involved.
