Skip to main content

New York Thruway installs LED signs to alert wrong-way drivers

New York’s state Thruway Authority has installed Doppler radar-enhanced LED signs to alert wrong-way drivers before they enter exits in Buffalo and Nyack, Rockland County, where wrong-way derivers have been involved in crashes. The radar can detect vehicles travelling the wrong way, setting off the LED sign and alerting the rest of the Thruway system. “New York is the first state in the nation to utilise this sophisticated technology to enhance traffic safety and save lives,” Governor Andrew Cuomo sai
December 5, 2013 Read time: 1 min
New York’s state Thruway Authority has installed Doppler radar-enhanced LED signs to alert wrong-way drivers before they enter exits in Buffalo and Nyack, Rockland County, where wrong-way derivers have been involved in crashes.

The radar can detect vehicles travelling the wrong way, setting off the LED sign and alerting the rest of the Thruway system.

“New York is the first state in the nation to utilise this sophisticated technology to enhance traffic safety and save lives,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “Last year the New York State Thruway was the safest it has been in its entire 59 year history, and these signs – which were designed and manufactured in Upstate New York – are helping us continue that progress in new and innovative ways.”

The Thruway said it expects to install the signs at other locations.

Related Content

  • February 25, 2014
    US states target wrong-way drivers
    Two states in the US, Florida and New York are working to reduce the risk of accidents caused by wrong-way drivers. In Florida, a six-month study conducted by Dr Haitham Al-Deek of the University of Central Florida found that only 10 per cent of drivers who witness a wrong-way driver called the police. The study does show that the number of ticketed wrong-way drivers has increased since 2005 and so have the calls to 911 reporting those drivers. "I do believe they happen more than
  • August 13, 2015
    Arizona DOT testing wrong-way vehicle detectors
    The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is testing wrong-way vehicle detection devices next to off-ramps along Phoenix-area freeways as part of an ongoing research effort to reduce the risk of wrong-way crashes. Three detectors, manufactured by Tapco have been installed along the northbound Interstate 17 exit to State Route 74, the eastbound Interstate 10 exit at Ray Road and the northbound Loop 101 off-ramp at Thunderbird Road. Two other detection devices, manufactured by Wavetronix, were instal
  • November 21, 2014
    Rhode Island installing wrong-way driver signing
    Rhode Island Department of Transport (RIDOT) is undertaking a US$2 million project to upgrade the signing and striping at 145 locations, more than 200 actual ramps, and install detection systems at 24 high-risk areas. The systems not only alert a driver who travelling in the wrong direction, they notify police and other motorists of a potential wrong-way driver. At the two dozen high-risk areas, most in the Providence metropolitan area, new detection systems will sense if a driver has entered a highway o
  • October 27, 2020
    Heading the right way with Caltrans
    Wrong-way collisions are relatively rare – but they are often head-on and fatal. After recent studies, California DoT is reviewing its highway design standards