A quick thinking Arkansan’s honks and shouts might’ve prevented a deadly, wrong way freeway driver.
Arkansan and Redditor /u/TheJester03 shared hair-raising dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit from yesterday (May 15, 2024) from Rogers, AR showing a driver in a GMC Acadia obliviously enter an I-49 off-ramp despite their being one-way and DO NOT ENTER signage.
Check out the dashcam video below.
Interstate Exit Wrong way-note the “One Way” sign [oc]
byu/Thejester03 inIdiotsInCars
This took place in Rogers, AR in the 2200 Block of S 52nd St. at an I-49 off-ramp (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As you can see in OP’s video, he’s coming off I-49 at Exit 83, waiting for his light to turn green onto S 52nd Street.
We then see a white GMC Acadia with a green light, instead of going straight, turn left onto the off-ramp despite signage warning drivers not to do this.
Here’s a screenshot from Maps with the Do Not Enter and One Way signage highlighted.
In an attempt to get this driver’s attention, OP honks his horn and shouts at the driver to stop and reverse.
“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!” OP yells.
Thankfully that intervention might’ve worked because according to OP, the driver in the Acadia eventually stopped, flipped a U-Turn, and headed out the right way.
“She did finally turn around farther down the off-ramp,” OP confirms.
While OP’s actions might sound dramatic, stopping a wrong way driver is anything but.
Unfortunately, a quick search for “Wrong Way Driver” and “Arkansas” reveals that often, wrong way driving accidents end up with a fatality.
For your information, Arkansas ranks #2 for “Worst In Nation” in a recent study for wrong-way driving fatalities.
“Good on you for preventing an even worse situation,” /u/appa-ate-momo commented.
“We often see the end results with cars going the wrong direction on the freeway. With this, we see the origin story,” /u/Charliesk9unit added.
More importantly, a lengthy comment from /u/tinydonuts claims, with receipts, that this intersection is non-compliant with the Federal Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices (aka the MUTCD.)
In his comment, posted below, /u/TinyDonuts spells out how the Interstate Shield Sign is non-compliant and confusing, there is no left turn signage, there’s a lane use sign for four lanes on a three lane road, and the lane use sign is too close to the intersection.
If anyone responsible for Rogers, AR’s roads is reading this, it would behoove you to read the below comment.
Comment
byu/Thejester03 from discussion
inIdiotsInCars
As mentioned, wrong way drivers contribute to many fatalities.
If you come across one, warning that driver and drivers around you is never a bad idea.
Afterward, you should call 9-1-1, too.
