Terrible Car Accident on 98

I have no idea what caused the driver to go the wrong way, so I am not addressing this specific situation, however I believe very strongly that the extra wide intersection is a serious problem that should be addressed. It took a huge community group taking action to get the traffic lights installed after several people were killed there; maybe it is time to have the community contact the Fl. DOT about reconfiguring that intersection before someone else is killed. Based on some information I have learned from my discussions with some highway engineers, it never should have been built the way it is.

Could some striping help?

Yes, I know that intersection isn't great, but at some point a brain is required for driving - and more and more we seem to be seeing just how low we can make the bar and how much we can coddle folks instead of addressing that.

I think more striping, or more visible striping, would help. I also agree a brain is necessary and it would help if there was no drinking and driving, but those are things that can only be controlled by the driver; the intersection is designed incorrectly IMO and in the opinion of many who know more about designing intersections than I do...that is something that can be and should be controlled by the people responsible for it...it might even help if there were "caution dangerous intersection" or "caution entering four lane highway"signs placed before the driver gets to the intersection. Something to bring attention to the fact that they need to pay more attention--coming from 395 and turning left/west onto Highway 98 is very confusing in the dark.
Now, why someone would not recognized their error right away and get off the highway is where the brain comes into play again.

There are intersections like 395/98 with signs that say, "ONE WAY. DO NOT ENTER" to warn people who attempt to enter the wrong side of a four-plus lane highway.

The scariest confusing intersection in ATL used to be the southbound HOV exit at Northside Drive from I-75. A bus driver carrying a load of college baseball players supposedly interpreted "HOV exit" to mean that if driving a HOV vehicle, exiting was required to stay in the HOV lane. He took the HOV exit, drove across the overpass, and the bus dropped down from the overpass onto I-75. Several kids were killed.

I just happened to be in the area the next day and drove the same path. I saw that the signage was incomplete and confusing. Wow, have they ever fixed that since then.

I can totally understand how the bus driver got confused. Not to mention that it was dark outside. It's hard enough to drive on the expressways in ATL when you were born and raised there.

SN, If there is anything I can do to help you guys out please let me know. Don't hesitate to call me on my cell anytime. 850-687-4050.

SN, glad you are relatively unscathed and back on the mend.

Worst thing about the 395/98 intersection: the traffic signal lights are on the outer perimeter in the intersection. They need to be reconfigured, at the expense of FDOT, or the engineering firm that signed off on the plans. Worst intersection ever.

So glad to know you are all ok. I hope the other person who caused the accident will be ok as well.

Intersection

I live in Point Washington and go towards Seaside daily and often. I'm afraid of that intersection. I can't count the number of times I've almost been hit or have seen someone almost get hit, not to mention the number of accidents still happening after the lights got installed. Unfrortunately nothing will happen until too many people have lost their life.

Just a quick message to say a big THANK YOU to my friends in the SoWal Community, for all your well-wishes, PMs, phone calls, etc after our accident and, for those of you who are local and knew about it, the loss of Fuzz's grandmother on January 3. The last month has been surreal for us, but we think we are finally starting to crawl up out of the hole. :wave:

love to all...

Did you ever hear toxicology results on the driver of the wrong way car?

Did you ever hear toxicology results on the driver of the wrong way car?

Not yet - often it can take 2 to 3 months (ShallowsFuzz confirms this - it's not like it is on TV). When we do, I might share them privately or it might come out in the media but our attorney has advised us against posting information such as that on social networking sites.

Whatever the results, and however emotional I get when I stop and think how close our son came to being an orphan, I wish only the best for the other driver and hope that she has a wonderful future. She is just as lucky to be alive as we are.