The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) has launched their wrong-way detection system by installing the first of its kind system in the state on the Exit 95 off-ramp from SR 1 northbound to Bay Road and SR 10 near the Dover Air Force Base North Gate.
The goal is to improve safety on the roads by alerting drivers going the wrong way before they enter the highway.
The system works by detecting the vehicle going the wrong way, and alerting the driver by flashing red lights on the Do Not Enter and Wrong Way signs facing the wrong way driver. Two cameras are included within the system and allow DelDOT’s 24/7 Transportation Management Center to dispatch Delaware State Police and post messages on variable message signs to alert motorists on northbound SR 1 to a possible wrong way driver.
Delaware experienced a rise in road fatalities due to wrong-way drivers in 2022, and increase from previous years. Last year, seven crashes took 12 lives.
To improve the safety on the road, DelDOT has been working to implement improvements statewide to deter wrong way entries onto highways, including enhanced signing and pavement markings at freeway entrance ramps to provide ample warning of wrong way travel.
The project is a pilot to test Intelligent Transportation System equipment designed to deter wrong way entries onto highways.
DelDOT is monitoring the system to determine the effectiveness of the project.
“We are working every day to make our roads safer. Every second counts when a vehicle enters a road and travels in the wrong direction and we will look to expand this system to other locations across the state should it prove to be a successful deterrent,” said Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski.
Colonel Melissa Zebley, Superintendent of the Delaware State Police added, “Collisions resulting from wrong-way drivers are often catastrophic and deadly. The Delaware State Police are not strangers to these dangers as our agency has investigated numerous collisions, and tragically lost troopers stemming from wrong-way drivers. I’m thankful for our partnership with DelDOT, as we employ technology to increase highway safety in Delaware.”
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Source: DelDOT
