ATSSA Signal Sept/Oct 2018

American Traffic Safety Services Association 20 Innovation & New Programs On April 14 of last year, Cathy Hocking was in her home state of North Carolina. This year, she flew out to Phoenix, Arizo- na, to the Grand Canyon to attend a vigil that was being held in memory of her daughters who were struck head on by a motorist driving the wrong way down a highway. Karli, 20, and Kelsey, 18, Richardson were on their way to the Grand Canyon and had gotten an early start to see the Good Friday sunrise. At 2:10 a.m. they were hit by 21-year-old Keaton Allison, who was driving the wrong way down I-17. “Making a choice is always hard but I re- ally felt I had to be in Arizona for the first year,” Hocking stated. The story of Hocking’s two daughters is a tragic one but also reflective of a prob- lem state transportation departments and communities are dealing with nationwide. According to the “Wrong-Way Driving Special Investigative Report” published by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), data collected from 2004 to 2009 showed there were 1,566 crash- es that occurred on entrance/exit ramps. Other data provided to the NTSB by the Wrong-way driving remains a national issue Here’s what some state transportation departments are doing to address it