Assessment of the effectiveness of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods.

This report describes the methodology and results of tasks performed regarding the effectiveness of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers reviewed the state of the practice regarding wrong way driving in the United States and Texas. Based on Texas crash data from 2007 through 2011, the majority of wrong way driving crashes on controlled-access highways occur in major metropolitan areas at night between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Driving under the influence was the primary contributing factor. Therefore, researchers designed and conducted two closed-course studies to determine the effectiveness of select wrong way driving countermeasures on alcohol-impaired drivers. In addition, researchers obtained data from several Texas agencies that had installed wrong way driving countermeasures and/or mitigation methods on their road network. Using these datasets, researchers assessed the effectiveness of these strategies in actual operational environments. Researchers used the findings from these studies to develop recommendations regarding the implementation of wrong way driving countermeasures and mitigation methods. Researchers used the focus group discussion method to obtain motorists' opinions regarding the design manuals to gain insight into the design of wrong way driver warning messages that could be posted on dynamic message signs. Based on the findings, researchers developed two single-phase wrong way driver warning messages for dynamic message signs.