Stay to the right to avoid wrong-way drivers
Jan 11, 2016, 5:00 AM | Updated: 7:21 am
When it comes to avoiding wrong way drivers on Arizona freeways, choosing the correct lane could mean the difference between life and death.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said a crash early Sunday morning involving a wrong-way driver on State Route 303 near Bell Road left two men dead.
DPS spokesman Raul Garcia said the crash occurred in the far left lane, which is quite common in wrong-way driving incidents.
For whatever reason most of these are drivers that assume they are driving on the right hand side of the road and that they are OK,” Garcia said.
But they are actually driving in the left lanes.
If you have to drive at night, especially in the wee hours of the morning, avoid those far left lanes,” Garcia said. “Remain vigilant, avoid distractions.”
Investigators have not ruled out alcohol as a contributing factor for either driver killed in Sunday’s accident involving an SUV and a pickup. There were no other passengers in either vehicle.
According to Garcia, troopers typically see about 45 wrong-way incidents on Arizona highways per month, but very few have resulted in a collision.
