144

Int. J. Engineering Management and Economics, Vol. 5, Nos. 3/4, 2015

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads:

an investigation into multiple incident parameters
and targeted countermeasures for reductions
John H. Rogers Jr.*, Haitham Al-Deek,
Ahmad Alomari, Frank A. Consoli
and Adrian Sandt
Department of Civil, Environmental & Construction Engineering,
University of Central Florida,
12800 Pegasus Drive, Suite 211,
P.O. Box 162450, Orlando Fl 32816-2450, USA
Email: jhroger@alumni.clemson.edu
Email: Haitham.Al-Deek@ucf.edu
Email: alomari@knights.ucf.edu
Email: frankconsoli@bellsouth.net
Email: adrians2009@knights.ucf.edu
*Corresponding author
Abstract: Wrong-way driving (WWD) on toll roads is a driving behaviour that
has not been fully studied in Florida. In order to combat these WWD events
and develop appropriate countermeasures, it is very important to understand
the accurate frequency and distribution of these WWD incidents on Central
Floridas Toll Road System. This analysis includes an investigation of WWD
crash reports, citations, 911 calls, and a customer survey. The main focus of
this study is to identify WWD hot spots to determine if additional
countermeasures are needed to combat WWD.
Keywords: WWD; wrong-way driving; systematic evaluation for safety; driver
behaviour and traffic control.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Rogers, J.H., Al-Deek, H.,
Alomari, A., Consoli, F.A. and Sandt, A. (2015) Wrong-way driving on
Florida toll roads: an investigation into multiple incident parameters and
targeted countermeasures for reductions, Int. J. Engineering Management and
Economics, Vol. 5, Nos. 3/4, pp.144168.
Biographical notes: John H. Rogers Jr., PE is currently a UCF PhD candidate
pursuing a dissertation in the area of Wrong-Way Driving. He obtained
a BS in Civil Engineering from Clemson University in 2005, an MS in Civil
Engineering from the University of Central Florida in 2007, and a SAS Data
Mining Graduate Certificate from the University of Central Florida in 2010.
He currently works as a Transportation Project Manager for the City of Orlando
and is the currently appointed chairperson of the Orange County Community
Traffic Safety Team.
Haitham Al-Deek, PhD, PE, has more than 27 years of experience in
transportation engineering, planning, and operations. He is nationally
recognised in his field and received two Chairman Awards from the National
Research Council-Transportation Research Board (TRB) for his significant
Copyright 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

145

contributions to the fields of Freeway Operations, and Regional Transportation

Systems Management and Operations in January 2012. He also received
the best TRB freeway operations paper award in 2010, which was about the
impact of Dynamic Message Signs on OOCEA drivers. He graduated from
the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. He was the Principal (or
co-Principal) Investigator of close to 60 applied research projects at UCF and
elsewhere. He has published more than 275 papers and technical reports in
peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and nearly half of these publications
are related to traffic operations.
Ahmad Alomari, PhD candidate, is currently a graduate research assistant
at the University of Central Florida. His background includes over three years
of industry experience with the private sector as a traffic engineer and
transportation planner. He has experience in traffic engineering and
transportation planning studies including but not limited to the following:
analysis and design of intersections/interchanges, traffic impact studies, road
safety audit, and development of public transportation studies.
Frank A. Consoli, PhD PE, LEED AP, is currently the City of Orlandos
Traffic Operations Engineer. His background includes over 31 years as an
engineer with over 12 years with the Florida Department of Transportation, the
last seven years with the City of Orlando and the remainder as CEI consultant
on various construction projects throughout the state of Florida. He presented
a research paper on smart event traffic management in Orlando regional
transportation network at the 2013 Transportation Research Board (TRB)
annual meeting in Washington, DC. Currently, he recently graduate with
doctorate at UCF in Civil Engineering.
Adrian Sandt, PhD graduate student Researcher, recently graduated with a
BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Central Florida. His research
focuses are wrong way driving data analysis and survey designs.
This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled Wrong-way
driving incidents on central florida toll road network, Phase-1 study:
an investigation into the extent of this problem? presented at
The Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI) of the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Orlando, Florida, USA, 10 June, 2014.

Introduction

Wrong-way driving (WWD) is a hazardous result of driver error/behaviour especially if it

occurs on high-speed roadways, such as limited access facilities. WWD can result in
head-on collisions on the mainlines of limited access facilities; these collisions often
cause severe injuries and even fatalities. The contributing causes for WWD driver error
can vary and include driver intoxication and confusion. Typically, these crash
occurrences are documented and recorded by law enforcement officers (LEOs) and are
available to engineering staff to later evaluate for safety analysis.
There are also many WWD incidents that do not result in a crash. Some of these
wrong-way drivers are stopped by LEOs and issued a pertinent citation, but in some
cases, the drivers are not intercepted. Other roadway users may report WWD events to
emergency response personnel, such as a 911 computer aided dispatch (CAD) call centre.

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J.H. Rogers et al.

In other cases, there might be no report of the WWD event and the WWD drivers
might correct their direction of travel on their own or exit the limited access facility in the
wrong direction.
When WWD crashes occur on limited access facilities, these events usually
make news headlines and strike fear into those who use these high-speed roadways.
A right way driver on the mainline can take little action to avoid a WWD vehicle,
since the approach rates of both vehicles combine for an excessive rate of speed (105 kph
+ 105 kph = 210 kph). To take a specific example, a severe WWD crash occurred on
August 30, 2012 on the eastbound SR 408 (Toll Road) near Good Homes Road in
Orlando, Florida. A suicidal driver drove his vehicle the wrong way and crashed into
another oncoming vehicle that was travelling the correct way. Both drivers died in this
WWD crash. This crash garnered negative media attention and triggered this
investigation into WWD incidents on Central Florida toll roads, especially roads operated
by the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), and later a systematic
evaluation for the Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE).
According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), only about 3% of
crashes that occur on high-speed divided highways are caused by WWD (NTSB, 2012).
Although WWD crashes are rare, the consequences can be severe. Therefore, it is
important to try to reduce the occurrence of these crashes as much as possible. WWD is
also a serious problem in Florida. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety
Administration (NHTSA), Florida had 386 fatalities due to WWD crashes from
20072011 (CBS Pittsburgh, 2013). This makes Florida the third worst state in the USA
for WWD, behind Pennsylvania and Texas (CBS Pittsburgh, 2013).
Studies on WWD first started in 1962 in California and have continued through the
present day (NTSB, 2012). Many of these studies have focused on analysis of WWD
crashes and countermeasures to reduce WWD. While studying crashes is important, it is
also important to study other WWD events that may not have resulted in a crash. These
events can include WWD citation data and 911 call data. Information on unreported
WWD events is also beneficial; this information can be obtained by surveying toll road
users about WWD events they have witnessed on toll roads. Analysing all of the data in
the WWD universe (Figure 1), not just crash data, will provide a more accurate picture on
the extent of WWD.
Figure 1

The universe of WWD data (see online version for colours)

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

147

1.1 Research objectives

The goal of this research was to determine the extent of WWD on Central Florida toll
roads and if WWD is a significant problem. To achieve this goal, the following objectives
needed to be met:

Collect and analyse WWD data on Central Florida toll roads and FTEs statewide
toll road system. These data include WWD crash data, citation data, 911 call data,
and data on unreported WWD events collected through a customer survey.

Identify areas where WWD tends to occur.

Determine if a future study is necessary to evaluate countermeasures that can reduce

WWD on Central Florida toll roads.

Provide countermeasure solutions using current technology to mitigate the risk of

WWD.

It is important for Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to know not just where the
WWD crashes, citations and 911 calls occur, but to know precisely where the WWD
initiated. This operational data is necessary to know the exact location where
countermeasures can be implemented or improved; with todays intelligent transportation
systems (ITS), this information is more readily accessible.

Literature review

According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which is a database of fatal
crashes in the USA, approximately 350 people are killed yearly due to WWD crashes on
freeways (Cooner and Ranft, 2008). These types of crashes often bring significant media
attention, which may paint a negative image of the roadway sections on which they
occur.
Zhou et al. (2012) investigated the main contributing factors regarding WWD on
freeways. According to FARS, 1753 people died and thousands were injured in WWD
crashes in the US (on all types of roadways) between 1996 and 2000, ranging from 300 to
900 fatalities per year. These statistics indicate that this is a significant national problem
and deserves serious attention at the national, state, and local levels. This report
mentioned studies conducted by other states that showed the frequency of WWD crashes.
These studies were conducted in California (19651985), with an average of 35 WWD
fatal crashes per year; Connecticut (20042006), with an average of 9 WWD crashes per
year on interstate highways; New Mexico (19902004), with 49 fatal WWD crashes on
interstate freeways during the study period; and North Carolina (20002005), with 162
WWD crashes on freeways during the study period.
WWD on freeways is not a new problem. Since the early 1950s, in an effort to
prevent WWD crashes, researchers at the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) developed warrants for median barrier implementation based on median width,
traffic volume, and benefit/cost ratio, (Sicking et al., 2009). Other states followed
the steps of Caltrans. However, WWD on toll roads is a relatively new problem. During
most of the travel hours, toll roads are less congested than public roads and freeways.

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J.H. Rogers et al.

With higher traffic speeds in both directions of travel on toll roads, WWD incidents can
lead to even more severe head-on crashes than in the case of freeways.
Cooner and Ranft (2008) and Cooner et al. (2004) performed research on freeway
WWD in Texas (this research included an overview of project activities and findings as
well as guidelines and recommended practices) (Cooner et al., 2004). These studies
indicated that WWD crashes on freeways were more dangerous than other types of
crashes because they were usually head-on collisions. The studies reported the state of the
practice on this subject in California, Georgia, and Washington.
Freeway-related WWD crashes in Texas were analysed using the Department of
Public Safety (DPS) crash reports and 911 public safety answering point representatives
reports. Results showed that the probability of WWD crashes happening in the early
morning period was five times higher than the average crash frequency for other types of
crashes in this period. Characteristics of WWD crashes, such as severity, driver age and
sex, driver impairment, time of crash, and origination of crash, were also analysed. The
results showed that most of the crashes were head-on collisions. The drivers were most
likely elderly and male, with 50-70% of crashes involving a DUI. The crashes usually
occurred during early morning hours and originated at freeway exit ramps.
Cooner (2012) reported that a high majority of WWD incidents involved drunk
drivers. Only 4 out of the 31 wrong-way crashes studied were caused by a person that
was found to have medical issues. Peak hours for WWD crashes occurred from 10 P.M.
to 8 A.M., spiking between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M. This data implies that a majority of the
crashes occur after someone goes out to a bar/club and decides to have a few drinks, then
tries to drive home. While under the influence, the drivers are unaware that they are
going in the wrong direction and end up causing a major incident. The following statistics
were mentioned in the paper:

45% of crashes occurred between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M.

27 out of 31 incidents involved a driver that was intoxicated

50% of crashes involved a fatality or incapacitating injury

20 fatalities/year and 100 crashes/year involving wrong-way drivers occurred

between 2007 and 2011

average blood alcohol content (BAC) of an intoxicated wrong-way driver

was 0.19 (legal limit is 0.08).

Arthur (2012) and Grossman (2012) reported about a wrong-way incident on I-35 in
San Antonio on November 23, 2012. The incident occurred when a wrong-way
driver assumed the fast lane of the southbound lane was the slow lane of the northbound
lane. One driver swerved to miss the wrong-way driver, but the wrong-way driver hit
another vehicle, sending it over the edge of I-35 and overturning onto Rittman Road. The
following statistics on WWD were also mentioned:

there were 185 reports of WWD incidents in San Antonio, Texas during 2011

drivers placed (358) 911 calls reporting WWD incidents in San Antonio to the
San Antonio Police Department during 2011, which equates to 0.98 WWD incident
call/day, which is significant.

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

149

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has since implemented flashing

Wrong-Way and Do Not Enter signs to try to combat wrong-way entries onto
controlled access highways.
The NTSB 2012 report (NTSB/SIR-12/01) noted the following information on WWD
crash characteristics:

WWD crashes rare on highway, severe, US nationally averages 300 per year, and
this value has remained unchanged in recent years

WWD crashes occur frequently at night and on weekends, and lane closest
to median

more than 60% of WWD collisions caused by intoxicated or impaired drivers

older drivers typically over-represented in WWD collisions

WWD signs could be improved

traffic control devices at exit ramps should be distinguishable from ones at entrance
ramps

design of interchanges has proven effective in reducing some incursions

some WWD monitoring programs provide a solution to identify collision trends

methods to stop WWD vehicle involve high degree of risk

systematic alert to provide right-way drivers with information on WWD could

enhance safety

navigation WWD alerts proven reliable and effective but human factors must be
considered in message content.

It is important to realise that limiting an analysis to WWD crashes is insufficient

to understand the full extent of the WWD problem. In fact, many WWD incidents go
unreported especially if there is no injury, no significant property damage, or no damage
at all. Additionally, except for Al-Deek et al. (2013), no major research efforts have been
published studying WWD in Florida or the Central Florida region.

Methodology

The methodology for this research concerned two critical functions; identifying
WWD events and identifying where on the toll road network these WWD events
occurred. Several data sources were gathered and analysed for this research.
These data sources needed to be mined for information relating to the following Central
Florida toll roads: SR 408, SR 414, SR 417, SR 429, and SR 528. These roads make up
the OOCEA Toll Road Network (shown in purple in Figure 2). The green coloured
sections of roadways in Figure 2 are under the jurisdiction of Floridas Turnpike
Enterprise. These jurisdictional lines were reflected in the maps created for this study
using Google maps.

J.H. Rogers et al.

150
Figure 2

Map of OOCEA toll roads (OOCEA, 2013) (see online version for colours)

The FTE toll road network is identified in green in Figure 3. This network shares some
connections with the OOCEAs system, but the FTE network is a larger statewide entity.
The following roads on the FTE system were reviewed for simple WWD crash statistics:
SR 91 (Turnpike Mainline), SR 417 (Seminole Express/Southern Connector), SR 528
(Beachline), SR 570 (Polk Parkway), SR 589 (Veterans Expressway/Suncoast Parkway),
SR 821 (Homestead Extension), and SR 869 (Sawgrass Expressway).
The roadways were analysed with respect to different sources of data. The following
list summarises the various data sources:

OOCEA WWD crash report hard copies (electronic PDFs) for the years 20032012
and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 5 crash data

Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) WWD citation data from 20102012 for Florida
Statute 316.090 (WWD on a divided highway)

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

151

CAD 911 call data with approximate location of reported WWD event and nearby
interchanges

WWD Toll Road Customer Survey with Computer Assisted Telephone Instrument
(CATI) response data.

Figure 3

Map of FTE toll roads (FTE, 2014) (see online version for colours)

The following list summarises the data analysis methods used and performed for this
research:

Crash Analysis Crashes were counted within each yearly dataset and crash reports
were filtered and processed to calculate yearly and roadway WWD crash trends.
Percentages were calculated for multiple parameters and compared to values found
in previous studies. Yearly data reports of daily vehicle miles travelled were used to
calculate WWD crash and injury rates for Orange County toll roads. X (longitude)
and Y (latitude) coordinates were utilised to create a map layer in Google Maps
showing WWD crashes. Crash data categories were analysed by filtering data and
using pivot table functions with datasets. Mean comprehensive crash estimates were
calculated by using national crash costs from Federal Highway. Administrations
report Crash Cost Estimates by Maximum Police-Reported Injury Severity within
Selected Crash Geometries (Council et al., 2005) and converting these costs to 2013
US dollars.

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Citation Analysis Citations were also counted within data sheets and yearly vehicle
highway miles travelled reports were used to calculate exposure. X and Y
coordinates were utilised for mapping, similar to crashes.

911 Call Analysis 911 calls were counted within data sheets and data filtering was
used to calculate various percentages. X and Y coordinates were utilised to map
these WWD 911 calls; some data points which lacked X and Y coordinates were
clustered by location description in the data (mile markers, interchanges, etc.).

Survey Analysis Survey responses were counted and the mode (most frequent
response) was determined for each questions. The number of total answers was
summed and percentages were calculated for the modes. Contingency tables
(cross tables) were developed to compare answers of one question to answers of
another question to better understand the relationship between the questions.

Systematic Ranking Several of the data points analysed in this research were used
to rank OOCEA roadways with regards to WWD events per category (the roadway
with the most events ranked #1 and the roadway with the least events ranked #5).
Since weighting of the various WWD events was not developed for this research at
the time of writing this paper, a simple summation of category rankings was used to
provide a simple overall ranking of the roadways with respect to the combination of
multiple WWD parameters.

WDD SYSTEMATIC RANKING

Crash analysis

The research team received crash data information and crash reports from OOCEA,
which included Driving Wrong Side/Way (code of 21) as a contributing cause by the
driver. This crash data was examined to provide insights on the following information:

trends of WWD crash (OOCEA & Central Florida FTE)

location of WWD crashes on and near the OOCEA system

summary of other crash factors (OOCEA & FTE Statewide)

estimate of the costs associated with WWD crashes (OOCEA & FTE Statewide).

4.1 Crash trends on Central Florida toll roads

Figure 4 summarises the overall crash and injury rates on Orange County Toll Roads,
which include both OOCEA and FTE jurisdictions. The figure shows that the rate of
overall crashes and rate of injuries per billion VMT on Orange County toll roads has been
declining. The crash rate peaked in 2007 and the rate of injuries peaked in 2005. 2011
had the lowest rate for overall crash rates and injury rates, similar to the overall death rate
trends shown in the statewide Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicle crash facts records, where 2011 had the lowest death rates compared to previous
years.

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

Figure 4

153

Overall crashes and injury rates on orange county toll roads

The WWD crash and injury rates are shown in Figure 5. The WWD crash and injury rates
peaked in 2003 and declined in 2004. Between the years 2004 and 2011, these rates have
not changed significantly. From 2004 onwards, many highways and limited access routes
have implemented structural median barriers; no additional WWD countermeasures have
been added other than the standard traffic control devices.
Figure 5

WWD crashes and injury rates on orange county toll roads

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J.H. Rogers et al.

4.2 Map layer of WWD crashes

Figure 6 shows a Google Map Layer of WWD crashes pinned on the Central Florida Toll
Road Network for the years 2003 to 2012. The purple roadways represent the OOCEA
network and the green roadways are Florida Turnpike sections of the Central Florida Toll
Road Network. The entire FTE system is not currently mapped, but will be mapped later
for a current research project and in future journal papers.
Figure 6

Central Florida toll road network WWD crashes (see online version for colours)

4.3 WWD crash details

Table 1 shows that SR 408 had the highest number of total WWD crashes (8), the highest
number of vehicles involved (18), and the highest number of injuries (14) for the
OOCEA toll road network from 20032012. SR 417 was second in both number of total
WWD crashes (7) and injuries (14). SR 528 had the highest number of fatalities (4) and
SR 408 had the second highest number of fatalities (2). SR 408 is a very heavily travelled
toll road, which provides east-west access to downtown Orlando. Many late night
establishments are located within the citys centre, which could have contributed to SR
408 having the highest number of crashes on the OOCEA system. On SR 528, the
segment where the fatalities occurred runs between Orlando International Airport and
Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral; its roadway alignment is very straight with little curvature
and travel speeds are high, which likely contributed to the severity of these crashes. SR
414 is a divided highway that turns into a limited access toll route. Its length is relatively
short compared to the other toll roadways within the OOCEAs system, which explains
its low numbers. SR 429 is one of the newer routes on system and typically carries a very
low amount of traffic volume compared to the other roadways, which can account for its
low numbers.

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

Table 1

155

WWD crashes on OOCEA toll roads from 20032012

WWD crash
information/toll road:

SR 408

SR 414

SR 417

SR 429

Crashes

Vehicles involved

18

Injuries

14

Fatalities

SR 528

Total

14

25

13

55

13

43

Table 2 shows that SR 91 (Turnpike Mainline) had the highest number of not only total
WWD crashes (52), but the highest number in the other categories as well for the
statewide FTE system. SR 821 (Homestead Extension) was second in crashes, injuries,
and fatalities. A large amount of the SR 91 and SR 821 crashes occurred within the South
Florida region. SR 91 cuts diagonally across the state, covering a large section of the
state; this length alone can account for the high frequency of crashes. SR 821 is mostly
within Broward and Miami-Dade County in South Florida, where the intensity and
concentration of WWD is very high.
Table 2

WWD crashes on FTE system (statewide) from 20022012

WWD crash
information/toll road:
Crashes

SR
91

SR
417

SR
528

SR
570

SR
589

SR
821

SR
869

Total

52

22

104

117

14

15

45

14

220

Injuries

74

14

17

116

Fatalities

12

23

Vehicles involved

Table 3 is a summary of the crash factors associated with WWD for both the OOCEAs
system and FTE system. It is important to note that this should not be used as a
comparison between the two agencies since this information has not been normalised
with traffic volume and exposure. While both systems have similarities, the Turnpike
Mainline covers a much larger amount of territory, from Ocala to Miami. The FTEs
system is also in the early stages of analysis, which is why some of the cells are noted to
be determined (TBD) later. The research team only had partial data on FTE system when
the analysis was conducted in this paper. Currently, the research team is in the process of
collecting more data on FTE and most likely (TBD) can be replaced with actual statistics
in the near future. This table links the collected crash data to factors exposed in the
literature review section, shown in the last column on the right. It should be noted that the
OOCEA data summary shows that 28% of the events involved hit and run drivers. Some
of these drivers were not apprehended and could have been driving under the influence,
resulting in a higher percentage of crashes with alcohol involved than shown, but it is
impossible to confirm this.
WWD Crash costs were estimated for the OOCEAs network by reviewing the
detailed crash reports and assigning a monetary value to these crashes. This value was
obtained by referencing the Federal Highway Administrations report Crash Cost
Estimates by Maximum Police-Reported Injury Severity within Selected Crash
Geometries (Council et al., 2005) and converting these costs to 2013 US dollars.

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J.H. Rogers et al.

Figure 7 shows that, when considering the economic costs of the WWD crashes, SR 528
ranks highest amongst the OOCEA toll roads in WWD crash cost and SR 408 ranks
second highest. Analysis of the FTE system is still in the preliminary stages (as part of an
ongoing WWD research project); therefore, crash costs have not been estimated for the
FTE system.
Table 3

Summary factors of OOCEA and FTE WWD crashes

OOCEA WWD crash data

Summary
6 of 25 (24%) WWD crashes
involved alcohol use

FTE WWD crash data summary WWD literature review

32 of 104 (31%) WWD crashes More than 60% caused by
intoxicated or impaired drivers
involved alcohol use
(NTSB/SIR-12/01)

0.197 BAC results average from TBD later

persons tested

Average BAC results of 0.19

(Cooner, 2012)

50% of the drivers below

57% of the drivers below
25 years of age involved alcohol 25 years of age involved
alcohol

Not reported precisely in the

literature review

7 of 25 (28%) WWD crashes

involved hit and run drivers

TBD later

Not reported precisely in the

literature review

20 of 25 (80%) WWD crashes

occurred from
07:00 PM06:00 AM

64 of 104 (62%) WWD

crashes occurred from
07:00 PM06:00 AM

Peak hours for WWD crashes

occurred from 10 P.M. to 8
A.M., spiking between 2 A.M.
and 4 A.M (Cooner, 2012)

Figure 7

WWD mean comprehensive crash cost estimate by OOCEA toll road

The WWD crash data analysis shows that WWD crashes on high-speed facilities are
serious and result in high economic costs. One reason for this is that it can be extremely
difficult for a right-way driver to avoid a wrong-way driver if they are approaching each
other at a combined highway speed of 210 km/hr (105 km/hr in each direction). At these
speeds, the impact on the drivers and passengers of both vehicles will always be very
severe.

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157

WWD citation data analysis

In addition to the crash data discussed in the previous section, the research team also
analysed data on WWD citations. Citation data was obtained from two sources: Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) and Florida Highway Patrol
(FHP). These data are analysed separately in the following sections.

5.1 Statute 316.090 analysis

Florida Statute 316.090 deals with driving on divided highways. A violation of this
statute, which could be either WWD or illegal crossing of a median, is a good indication
of WWD on toll roads, since these roads are usually divided highways. Therefore, this
statute merits special consideration and its own analysis.
Figure 8 shows citations issued statewide per billion miles driven per year for
violating statute 316.090 from 20022012. The highest rate of citations for this statute
was issued in 2006, when 6,273 were issued.
Figure 8

316.090 citation rate issued statewide per year

Table 4 shows the citation rate for the Florida counties with the highest VMT.
Miami-Dade County has a very high rate of WWD citations issued compared to the other
heavily travelled counties. Orange County is the highest Central Florida county, at rank 5.
Since Central Florida experiences high volumes of traffic, there is a greater chance of
WWD events happening there than in than less populated, more rural areas of the state.
Three Central Florida counties (Orange, Volusia, and Brevard) experience high amounts
of vehicular traffic and high amounts of WWD citations.

5.2 Map layer of WWD citation 316.090(1)

FHP provided the research team with citation data tables for Orange, Osceola, and
Seminole Counties for 2010 (starting in April), 2011, and 2012. The citation statutes

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J.H. Rogers et al.

provided included FS 316.090(1), which is defined as driving on the wrong side of a

divided highway. The FHP data contained X (longitude) and Y (latitude) information so
it could be mapped using Google Maps to visualise the Central Florida network. This
citation data is plotted for the Central Florida Toll Road Network in Figure 9.
Table 4

316.090 citation rate issued per high VMT Florida counties

County

Total VMT from

20022011

Number of 316.090
citations issued

Number of WWD citations

per billion miles driven

Miami-Dade

198,292,113,938

19,250

97.1

Broward

162,429,212,559

4620

28.4

Hillsborough

126,731,863,537

3684

29.1

Palm Beach

123,529,397,297

3227

26.1

Orange

123,450,110,433

2638

21.4

Duval

105,015,468,967

1532

14.6

Pinellas

85,033,778,554

1415

16.6

Brevard

63,207,479,561

1310

20.7

Lee

62,301,293,351

1298

20.8

Volusia

56,026,114,320

1073

19.2

Figure 9

OOCEA and Central Florida toll road network map of WWD citation 316.090 (1)
(see online version for colours)

Table 5 is a summary of the number of citations for FS 316.090(1) on the OOCEA

toll roads from 20102012. SR 408 had the highest number of these types of WWD
citations (5).

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

Table 5

OOCEA toll road WWD citation 316.090(1)

Toll road:
Number of 316.090(1) citations:

159

SR 408

SR 414

SR 417

SR 429

SR 528

Total

11

WWD 911 call data analysis

6.1 Statewide WWD 911 call analysis

WWD 911 call data was obtained from FHP; this data contained detailed information on
the location and time the WWD was reported. The research team looked at nine years of
data from 20042012. These data were analysed for statewide statistics and trends, then
the WWD 911 calls for Central Florida toll roads were mapped using Google Maps.
Figure 10 shows the number of WWD 911 calls received statewide per billion miles
driven from 20042011. This rate was higher in 20082011 than in 20042007.
Figure 10 911 WWD call rate Florida statewide 20042011

Another important aspect of the WWD 911 calls is the time at which they occurred.
Knowing when WWD tends to occur is important so preventive measures can be used
more effectively by focusing on the hours when the majority of WWD occurs. Figure 11
shows the WWD 911 call time distribution split into 6-hour periods. Over 36% of the
total WWD 911 calls occurred from 12 AM5:59 AM, whereas only 15% occurred from
6 AM11:59 AM. These data show that more WWD occurs at night, even though there
are usually not as many vehicles on the road during the nighttime hours compared to the
daytime hours.

6.2 Map layer of WWD 911 call data on orange county toll roads
The WWD 911 call data contained location descriptions and mile markers, which were
used to approximate the locations of the WWD 911 calls. Figure 12 shows the Google
map that was used to capture this call information and map it on the Orange County toll
road network.

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Figure 11 Statewide 911 WWD calls per time period from 20042011

Figure 12 Orange county toll road network 911 calls mapped (see online version for colours)

Table 6 shows the number of WWD 911 calls received for SR408, SR414, SR417,
SR429 and SR528 in Orange County. SR528 is the toll road that experienced the most
WWD 911 calls (68).
Table 6

Orange county toll road WWD 911 calls

Toll road:
Number of 911 calls:

SR 408

SR 414

SR 417

SR 429

SR 528

Total

46

49

37

68

203

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161

6.3 Summary of WWD 911 call data analysis

Statewide, the average number of WWD 911 calls from 20042012 was 955. There were
more than 955 WWD 911 calls statewide in 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2012. Normalising
these values by considering the statewide VMT gave an average rate of 4.80 WWD 911
calls per billion miles driven from 20042011. The rate was above average in 2005 and
from 20082011. This shows that reports of WWD have become more frequent over the
past few years. The hourly distribution of the WWD 911 calls shows that a majority of
them are received during nighttime hours (12 AM5:59 AM and 6 PM11:59 PM). The
WWD 911 calls provide a deeper insight into the extent of the WWD problem on Central
Florida toll roads, but it is not known how many unreported WWD incidents there are;
determining this amount is one of the goals of the OOCEA customer survey.

WWD OOCEA customer survey

The research team designed a survey for gathering WWD information from the
OOCEAs customers. The survey was launched using the Computer Assisted Telephone
Instrument, or CATI, method. This method utilised random digit dialling in areas
surrounding OOCEAs toll roads in Central Florida. A professional survey company was
hired to obtain a sample of 400 completed surveys. The survey took place between the
dates of March 7, 2013 and March 7, 2013. On average, respondents took 7 minutes and
53 seconds to complete the survey. Before the survey was launched, it was reviewed and
approved by the University of Central Floridas Internal Review Board.
Table 7 provides a breakdown for Set A questions, including the most common
response (mode), the count of this response, and the percentage of this response for each
question. These questions were asked to survey respondents who stated that they had
personally witnessed WWD on Central Florida toll roads, of which there were 297 out of
the 400 total survey respondents. The most common Central Florida toll road where
WWD was observed was SR 408. Most of the WWD events witnessed occurred during
daytime hours, daylight and clear sky conditions. 50.2% of the respondents felt that they
were at high risk of danger. 11.1% of the respondents answered that the WWD event they
witnessed caused a crash. 63.0% of the respondents said that the event did not affect their
driving patterns. One of the most intriguing findings is that 89.9% of the respondents did
not call 911 to report the WWD event, meaning that only 10.1% of the respondents called
911 to report the event. Therefore, WWD 911 calls only represent a small portion of
WWD events. This finding is important, since it shows that drivers do not report these
WWD events even when they feel at a high risk of danger. Since not all WWD events
result in a crash or are even reported, it is important for roadway agencies to proactively
detect WWD events to be able to stop the wrong-way driver before a crash occurs.
Figure 13 shows the distribution of the WWD events encountered on OOCEA
roadways. 153 of the 297 respondents in the Set A questions witnessed their most recent
WWD event on an OOCEA roadway. The percentages in Figure 13 represent these 153
WWD events with the following frequencies for each toll road: SR 408 (71), SR 417
(37), SR 528 (30), SR 429 + SR 414 (12 + 3 = 15). It is important to note that SR 429 and
SR 414 were combined because SR 414 had only 3 WWD events.

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Figure 13 Percentage of WWD events witnessed per OOCEA roadway

Figure 14 compares the OOCEA road question (Q2A) with the question asking if the
respondents felt if they were at a high risk of danger form the WWD event (Q9A),
which has responses of Yes or No, for the 153 respondents who witnessed WWD on
an OOCEA roadway. SR 429 and SR 414 had the highest percentage of Yes responses,
with 67%. SR 528 was second with a 50% response to Yes. For the entire OOCEA
network, 48% of these 153 respondents answered Yes
Figure 14 Q2A (OOCEA toll road) by Q9A (high risk of danger)

Figure 15 compares the OOCEA road question (Q2A) with the response of Yes or No
to calling 911 or reporting the WWD event (Q13A) for the same 153 respondents.
Overall, OOCEA roads only had 8% of these respondents report the WWD event. On SR
528, 0% of the respondents reported the WWD event, even though there were 30
encounters of WWD on this roadway, as shown in Figure 13. SR 429 and SR 414
combined had the highest percentage of respondents who called 911 with 13%.

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

Table 7

163

OOCEA customer survey set A Q1AQ13A breakdown

Question

No of
choices Mode-description

Count

Total
answered

169

297

56.9

Q1A. How long ago did you witness

this most recent wrong-way driving
event?

Less than six months

ago

Q2A. On which Central Florida

freeway or toll road did you witness
this wrong-way driving event?

State Road 408

71

297

23.9

Q3A. Where precisely on the

roadway did this wrong-way driving
event occur?

On the same side of

the roadway as you
were travelling

86

297

29.0

Q4A. During which time of day did

you experience this wrong-way
driving event?

After 3 PM until
7 PM

84

297

28.3

Q5A. What was the lighting

condition when this wrong-way
driving event occurred?

Daylight condition

162

297

54.5

Q6A. What was the weather when

this wrong-way driving event
occurred?

Clear sky or light

cloud

198

297

66.7

Q7A. Was there any type of

overhead roadway lighting when this
wrong-way driving event occurred?

No

193

297

65.0

Q8A. What type of vehicle was

travelling the wrong way?

Personal/private
passenger vehicle

227

297

76.4

Q9A. Did you feel that you and/or

your passengers were at a high risk
of danger when you witnessed this
wrong-way driving event?

Yes

149

297

50.2

Q10A. Did you see if this wrongway driving event caused a crash?

No

264

297

88.9

Q11A. Did this wrong-way driving

event affect your driving patterns?

No

187

297

63.0

Q12A. How did this wrong-way

driving event affect your driving
patterns? (Choose all that apply)

It caused you to
drive more alert and
defensively.

96

110

87.3

Q13A. Did you call 911 or report

this wrong-way driving event to any
applicable public agencies?

No

267

297

89.9

Table 8 summarises the total number of responses for Figures 1315. Overall, SR 408 has
the most responses on all categories in these survey questions. This table, along with
previous summary tables, will be used to systematically rank each OOCEA toll road by
WWD statistical category.

J.H. Rogers et al.

164

Figure 15 Q2A (OOCEA toll road) by Q13A (call 911 or report WWD)

Table 8

Summary of survey responses for Q2A, Q2A by Q9A, and Q2A by Q13A

WWD survey response/

OOCEA toll road

SR 408

SR 414

SR 417

SR 429

SR 528

Total

Q2A WWD responses

71

37

12

30

153

Q2A by Q9A high risk

(Yes response)

31

17

15

73

Q2A by Q13A Call 911

(Yes response)

13

WWD SYSTEMATIC RANKING

The results from the previous sections are organised in Table 9. The columns contain
each of the OOCEA toll roadways, while the rows contain a sample of the WWD data
sources. Each roadway is ranked for each data category (1 indicating the highest
frequency, and 5 indicating the lowest frequency). These rankings are totalled at the
bottom and each roadway is ranked according to these totals.
Overall, SR 408 ranks first (or worst), SR528 ranks second, SR417 ranks third,
SR414, and SR429 both rank fourth (tie) for the WWD data sources. It is important to
note that these categories are not weighted against one another and some categories likely
overlap. This systematic summary is very useful for understanding the most effective
places to implement WWD countermeasures.

Countermeasures

The proposed concept of using Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) as WWD
countermeasures, Figure 16 is unique and innovative. RRFBs are currently only used at
pedestrian crosswalks to warn vehicles of crossing pedestrians; the new Phase-2 study is
the first study to use RRFBs as WWD countermeasures. WRONG WAY signs equipped

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

165

with RRFBs, radar detection, and cameras, are being installed at five pilot test locations
on the CFX toll road network: SR 408 and Hiawassee Road (2 off ramps), SR 408 and
Kirkman Road (2 off ramps), and SR 528 and SR 520 (eastbound off ramp).
Table 9

Cross tabulation of OOCEA toll road data by row ranking

WWD data source/

OOCEA toll road
Crashes

SR 408

SR 414

SR 417

SR 429

SR 528

Vehicles involved

Injuries

Fatalities

Crash cost

316.090(1) citations

911 calls

Q2A WWD responses

Q2A by Q9A high risk

Q2A by Q13A Call 911

Total col. sum of ranks

14

41

24

41

23

Rank col. sum

Figure 16 Conceptual RRFB for wrong way ramp signage (see online version for colours)

Conclusion

The major objective of this research project was to measure and understand WWD trends
and statistics for the OOCEA and the Central Florida toll road network. The WWD crash
findings show that these crashes do not make up a large percentage of the overall crashes
on the OOCEA network. However, when a WWD crash event occurred, it had a high
chance of being catastrophic. WWD crashes accounted for 5% of the total fatalities on
the OOCEA system. 4 out of the 25 total WWD crashes analysed (16%) resulted in 6
total fatalities in a 10-year time span (20032012). 19 out of the 25 crashes (76%)
resulted in 43 total injuries. The overall average crash cost of WWD on the OOCEA
system was estimated to $3,100,000 per year, and the 10-year total cost of WWD was

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estimated to be $31,000,000. SR 528 had the highest total crash cost estimate and SR 408
had the second highest crash cost estimate. These results show that WWD crashes are
costly to OOCEAs customers.
Google maps were created for this project, showing the locations of WWD crashes,
citations, and 911 calls. These maps showed that SR 408 ranked first in 316.090(1)
citations and SR 528 ranked second. The WWD 911 call data analysis shows that the
majority of these calls statewide are received during nighttime hours. In addition, 911
WWD reports have become more frequent statewide over the past few years, with respect
to VMT. The analysis of individual OOCEA roadways in Orange County shows that SR
528 had the most 911 calls. SR 417 was second and SR 408 was a close third. Recent
WWD countermeasure research on Texas toll roads has used 911 reports extensively to
understand WWD breaches at interchanges and determine what corridors are hot spots
for WWD.
The WWD OOCEA customer survey served as a critical tool in understanding
unreported and reported WWD events. The survey collected responses through a
computer-assisted phone-calling instrument. 297 respondents personally witnessed WWD
on Central Floridas freeways and toll roads and 103 respondents knew of a family
member or friend who had witnessed WWD on these roads. SR 408 was the most
common roadway where WWD events were witnessed, with SR 417 the second most
common. Unlike the 911-call analysis, most respondents said that these WWD events
occurred during daytime hours. 50% of the respondents felt that they were at a high risk
of danger when they witnessed the WWD event. Only 10.1% of the respondents called
911 to report the WWD event. This low number should be improved by getting the word
out to the public to call and report these types of dangerous events, in order to fully
understand the extent of WWD.
The WWD systematic summary analysis shows how the OOCEA roads rank in terms
of various categories of WWD data sources. It is very important to note that these
categories were not weighted against each other. The results show that, overall, SR 408
ranks first (or worst) and SR 528 ranks second for WWD measures. These results will be
useful for a future evaluation of WWD countermeasure implementation.
WWD is a serious event, which can result in devastating consequences and huge
economic losses to the individuals involved in crashes. It is the recommendation of this
study to further combat WWD with a three-tiered level approach for countermeasures
(low, medium, and high-level WWD countermeasures). Low-level countermeasures
include low-cost traffic control devices such as proper signs (DO NOT ENTER,
WRONG WAY) and pavement markings (directional arrows, reflective pavement
markings) to ensure conformance to standards. The quantity, size, and location of these
countermeasures is important to ensure they work effectively. Medium-level
countermeasures include enhanced signage with warning beacons such as flashing LED
WRONG WAY signs or Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) warning devices
for WRONG WAY signs. RRFBs are currently used primarily for pedestrian
crosswalks, but this research team is actively working with OOCEA (now known as the
Central Florida Expressway Authority, or CFX) to test these devices at exit ramps on SR
408 and SR 528 to detect and reduce WWD. These warning beacon assemblies can also
include WWD detection technologies that can record breaches and video logs of wrongway drivers. This detection is very important to further understand the extent of WWD,
since it was shown that drivers do not usually report witnessed WWD events. Mediumlevel devices require more time, effort and capital to implement than low-level

Wrong-way driving on Florida toll roads: an investigation

167

countermeasures and should be implemented near WWD event hot spots. The high-level
countermeasures for WWD include the use of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
devices and communications to warn the right way drivers of detected and reported
wrong way drivers. Essentially, the WWD event has to be confirmed through detection or
reports and then communication tools, like dynamic message signs (DMS), have to be set
to display safety messages like Wrong Way Driver Reported Use Extreme Caution.
The transportation agencies have to determine if their operations, personnel and
infrastructure are sufficiently adapted to perform this function. This option comes with
additional costs and responsibility compared to the medium-level countermeasures.
Determining the extent and significance of WWD helps agencies move forward
with plans for appropriate countermeasures. WWD crashes have a high probability of
catastrophic results, including incapacitating injuries, fatalities, and high economic
damages. These crashes can also cause significant negative media attention for the
roadway agencies in charge of the roads where the crashes occur. Taking this proactive
approach in fully investigating and fighting WWD allows agencies like CFX and FTE to
implement innovative and cost-effective solutions to reduce the likelihood of future
WWD incidents and possible catastrophes.

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