Wrong-way crash fatalities on the rise in Idaho
COEUR d'ALENE — Wrong-way crash fatalities are rare, making up just 4% of the deaths on America’s highways. But these crashes tend to be violent because they almost always involve a head-on collision, and according to new research by AAA, the problem is getting worse.
AAA said between 2015 and 2018, there were about 500 wrong-way fatal crashes per year on U.S. roads. That’s a 34 percent increase from the 375 deaths annually from 2010 to 2014. In Idaho, wrong-way deaths are up 50 percent, climbing from two to three deaths each year.
“Between 2010 and 2018, just over half of those killed in a wrong-way crash were the wrong-way driver, which means that during this type of collision, everyone’s life is at risk,” said AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “We need to get a handle on this issue, particularly in rapidly-growing states like Idaho.”
A wrong-way crash claimed a Spokane Valley man's life on Interstate 90 on Sept. 11.
Christine M. Cann, 57, was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter after a head-on collision that killed Jeremy T. Scherer.
Police said Cann was driving west in the eastbound lanes of I-90 around 12:30 p.m. when her 2020 Toyota RAV4 hit Scherer’s Chevy Sonic.
Trooper Michael Archer with ISP said he smelled alcohol on Cann when he responded to the crash, according to court documents.
AAA compared the characteristics of wrong-way and “right-way” drivers who were involved in the same crash, revealing several key risk factors in the process:
• Alcohol use. Six in 10 wrong-way crashes involve an impaired driver. In these crashes, those who are over the legal limit are 18 times more likely to be a wrong-way driver.
• Older drivers. In the crashes that AAA studied, more than two-thirds of drivers aged 70 to 79 and 92 percent of drivers aged 80 and over were wrong-way drivers.
• License status. Wrong-way drivers are also more likely to be driving with an invalid, expired, or suspended driver’s license than right-way drivers.
“There are a couple of other interesting takeaways from the new AAA study. Wrong-way drivers tend to have in-state licenses, which dispels the notion that many of these crashes occur due to a lack of familiarity with local roads,” Conde said. “We’ve also learned that in these crashes, nearly 87 percent of wrong-way drivers were driving alone. Clearly, passengers play an important role in alerting drivers that they’re entering a one-way road or helping them take corrective action before a crash occurs.”
Alcohol ignition interlocks, sobriety checkpoints, and driver refresher courses are effective tools to help prevent wrong-way crashes, according to AAA.