Another wrong way driver

Snow Plows, Over weight trucks, people exiting ramps too fast.

Spiked ramps will probably cause more harm than they will prevent.

I'm glad that no one was killed this time. If it had been a holiday weekend there may have been more traffic and a different outcome. I hope that this one goes to jail too for Aggravated Vehicular Assault.

Regarding the spikes, here is a statement from ODOT:

Police say the driver of a pick-up truck was drunk when he went the wrong way on I-280 on December 30th, hitting a mini-van almost head on, and killing a young mother and four children.

Michael Gagnon now faces five charges of aggravated vehicular homicide.

But could have better road barriers have prevented the crash?

ODOT says no.

Spokeswoman Theresa Pollick says, "Unfortunately, this is a very sad case. The driver was impaired, and there's not a lot of signs that can prevent 3-times over the legal limit. There's not a lot you can do when a driver is that impaired."

ODOT uses wrong way signs and reflectors on exit ramps.

Signs that were, obviously ignored that fateful night.

Other states believe, signs just aren't enough. In Washington state, officials have looked at using sensors in the pavement that could trigger warning signs and cameras if a vehicle goes the wrong way. "So, for instance, a car traveling the wrong way on an on ramp would trigger these sensors and a neon sign would light up saying, do not enter. Wrong way", says Travis Phelps of the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Other states have looked at using spikes to blow out the tires of wrong way drivers, or using devices that emit an electromagnetic pulse to stall wrong-way vehicles.

But ODOT says, many of these devices are too expensive, or too dangerous to use.

Bottom line, it's up to drivers to obey the signs, and the law.

Pollick says, "It's one of those things where it basically comes down to don't drink and drive"
(Source: NBC24.com)

It was just an idea :) I hadn't thought about snowplows.

As for them being too dangerous, well if it only hurts the drunk I guess thats better then him killing five innocent people.

Even at 2 am, even if you had a few drinks (not condoning it) - even if you're in a somewhat unfamiliar area - by the time you are pulling into the ramp to enter an xway, can you not see which way cars are going? Even those in farther lanes traveling the opposite direction (as in, I-75 N, you can see I-75 S drivers)? Just seems such a stupid thing to do, to not realize almost immediately, that something isn't right - where a normal person would at least pull over to the shoulder of the xway to figure out how to fix the situation?

Don't care or think. Signs, Sensors, Headlights, or Logic is not top priority.

would you give him a pass because of his looks?

She probably would. Juries do it all the time based on the same kind of reasoning. Frightening, huh?

If you've seen the photos, you'll note that both women look to be pretty banged up. This kind of bruising was probably caused by the air-bag, the device that's supposed to protect you in the event of a collision. The device you can't switch off in the car that you bought and paid for. This is what you'll look like if you hit something at five miles per hour. I note that the paper failed to run photos of the vehicles involved, possibly because the damage wasn't extensive enough.

Her level was at .19 which was nine times the legal limit for a person of her age (.02) and twice the legal limit for an adult.

Which has little or nothing to do with her lack of sobriety, or more importantly, her lack of ability to drive her car in a responsible, safe and sane manner. Blood alcohol levels are established for political reasons by legislators who are keenly aware of the next election and who are being pressured by MADD, SADD, DADD and a host of other alphabet soup professional parasites. These expert horn tooters ought to be ignored in favor of intelligent legislation that stands a chance of preventing this kind of accident.

that a suite of sensors tied to a basic traffic indicator can be too expensive or too dangerous to use.

It's already being done. The toll roads in Illinois and Indiana use a system called EZ-Pass which relies on a sensor and an RFID chip. I use it all the time, and if Ohio weren't so backward the system would be available in that State as well.

The lesson here? EVERYONE SHOULD JUST DRIVE DRUNK.

The only thing more fun than driving drunk is driving while drunk and under the influence of a recreational hallucinogenic, and simultaneously playing with your gun collection. Streetlights, signs, the tires of other cars whose driver has pissed you off all become legitimate targets for six gun justice. You'd be amazed at the amount of excitement you can create by driving erratically at a hundred and ten and shooting at highway signs! Plus, you're actually doing the community a good service by shooting out the tires of bad drivers you find along the way – such as that fool with the bubble gum machine on top of his car, who is tailgating you.