It's scary to think that at times the only thing separating you and your family from certain tragedy is a painted solid double line or a grassy median. You have to trust that just at the moment a car passes you in the opposite direction that the driver won't lean over and change the radio station, look down to get a text or any number of other actions that distract drivers and can cause head-on collisions.
Unfortunately VA State Police are investigating a second deadly wrong way crash in Henry County, Virginia (VA) in just the past two days. A 37-year-old woman was driving east in her Ford Mustang, when she crossed the center line, and hit a Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV head on. The impact killed the distracted driver.
Police tell us four people, two of them children, were in the SUV. Emergency crews airlifted the SUV's driver, 29-year-old Carmeshia Hannah, her passenger, and two young children who are only 5-years-old, and 6-years-old to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. My thoughts go out to all those injured in the crash. I can't imagine the panic a parent would feel being injured and not able to help their hurt children. State Police say the investigation is ongoing.
So what makes drivers cross the median and crash head-on into oncoming traffic? Most of the time it's a distraction that causes these tragic accidents: Nationwide data shows that 1 in 5 non-intersection fatal crashes involve two vehicles crashing head-on. 75% of these crashes occur on undivided two-lane roads. 30% of the deaths are persons under the age of 25.
This lets us know that distracted drivers are a significant safety problem. The NHTSA reports that 80% of all crashes, and 65 % of near-crashes, involve some type of driver distraction. In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured.
One possible solution are rumble strips, rumble strips are intended to save lives and prevent serious injuries by alerting drivers that they are leaving the driving lane. They consist of raised or grooved patterns on the roadway. They provide driver with both an audible warning (rumbling sound) and a physical vibration.
As an attorney who sees the consequences from these serious accidents I know that distracted driving is a serious, life-threatening practice.