Preventing the Crash That Never Happens: Wrong-Way Driving Technology in Action
In Florida, seven out of ten freeway wrong-way driving crashes result in injury or loss of life.* Often, that harm is fatal. While wrong-way driving accounts for a small share of total roadway incidents, it produces some of the most devastating outcomes in transportation. That gap between frequency and consequence is exactly why it demands a proactive response.
For THEA, this issue is personal. In 2016, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy John Kotfila Jr. lost his life after stopping a wrong-way driver on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. His actions prevented that driver from reaching other motorists, saving lives at the cost of his own. In honor of his service and sacrifice, THEA created the Deputy John Kotfila Memorial Dog Park beneath the Selmon Expressway, ensuring his legacy remains part of the community he helped protect. This year, THEA marked the tenth anniversary of his death with a bench dedication ceremony at the park. His sacrifice is a lasting reminder that behind every safety investment is a human life to protect.
That understanding shaped our proactive approach to wrong-way driving prevention on the Selmon Expressway. This year, THEA completed a comprehensive Wrong-Way Driving Vehicle Detection Countermeasure Program, deploying advanced safety technology at twelve locations across the system. The deployment combines rectangular flashing beacons, in-pavement warning lighting, upgraded communications infrastructure, and Intelligent Transportation System enhancements that will alert law enforcement in real time.
When a potential wrong-way movement is detected, the system creates multiple, immediate opportunities for a driver to recognize the mistake and correct course before anyone else is endangered.
As transportation systems become more connected, safety must be built into the infrastructure's intelligence. For toll agencies, that is both an opportunity and a responsibility. The tolling industry has the technology, the knowledge, and the partnerships necessary to lead on this issue. Our responsibility is to continue sharing what works, learning from one another, and raising the standard for roadway safety in practice.
Yet even the most advanced infrastructure has limits. Technology can detect a mistake and give a driver the chance to correct it. It cannot make that correction for them. As IBTTA's Mind Your Drive campaign reminds us, a driver's attention remains the most important safety feature in any vehicle. Every time we get behind the wheel, we share a responsibility to stay focused, stay alert, and look out for one another.
The communities we serve may never know about the crashes that were prevented because a warning light flashed and a driver responded. That is precisely the point. Success in transportation safety is most often measured by the tragedies that never happen.