If you see a wrong-way driver coming toward you, there are a few different potential reasons why it could have happened. Some older drivers are struggling with mental decline as they age, for example, and may get confused. Very young drivers, conversely, may simply lack experience, leading to clear mistakes that they would not make if they had simply spent more time behind the wheel.
But these are rather rare cases. When researchers look at wrong-way accident statistics overall, they find that the main cause of those crashes is alcohol use. Drivers who would otherwise understand complicated road designs will make crucial errors and cause wrong-way crashes simply because they are impaired.
Interstate accidents are particularly dangerous
Any wrong-way accident can be dangerous because it is a head-on collision, one of the most violent types of crashes. But these are especially dangerous on the interstate due to the higher speeds. If two vehicles are both traveling at 75 mph, the combined impact speed during the head-on collision is 150 miles an hour.
Additionally, drivers on the interstate never expect wrong-way traffic. They know that there is a median or concrete divider that is supposed to separate vehicles going in different directions. So a wrong-way driver is even more unexpected than they would be on a smaller road.
Finally, many of these accidents happen at night, after the impaired driver has been out drinking. Lower traffic levels may make it easier to drive the wrong direction on the interstate, and the wrong-way driver may not even realize they have made a mistake until they cause a crash.
Potential areas of compensation
If you have suffered serious injuries in an accident with a wrong-way driver, you may deserve financial compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and long-term costs, such as a reduced earning capacity.