Rochester, N.Y. - The National Transportation Safety Board is stepping up its efforts to prevent wrong-way crashes, hoping to spare families the pain that the Bell family feels. Daniel Bell was killed in a wrong way crash in August.
Bell was riding his motorcycle one night when he was hit head-on by a car driven by Alphonse Chimera. Police say Chimera was driving the wrong way.
“The sad part about this situation is one person makes a choice and that choice affected so many people,” Daniel Bell’s ex-wife Tabatha Bell said.
Since Bell's accident, there have been a few wrong way crashes. Later that month, a drunk driver drove the wrong way on 490, but no one was hurt.
In November, on 590 near the 390 interchange, police say 38-year old Mario Carlenius was driving southbound in the northbound lanes when he hit 20-year-old Stanislov Dutchak head-on.
Both are still in the hospital.
This past Friday, an accident in East Rochester left one man dead after the driver of a pick-up truck swerved into oncoming traffic to pass a car, striking two cars.
“In this case we have a fatal at a rather standard intersection and to the NTSB’s question, ‘What can be done?’ That's a difficult question to answer,” Corporal John Helfer with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said.
The NTSB attributes 60% of wrong-way crashes to drunk drivers. 15% of all the crashes are caused by drivers over the age of 70.
The NTSB wants all states to require interlock devices for those convicted of a DWI. They're also calling on state DOT’s to improve signage.
The organization suggests using oversized signs and mounting multiple signs on the same post. They also recommend improving ramp exit designs to cut down on confusion and providing better lighting.
That’s something Bell's family would like to see.
“Flashing lights telling drivers they're going the wrong way on the on the ramp,” Bell said.
The NTSB is also looking at ways to use GPS systems as a way to alert drivers of wrong way movement.
