Wrong way collisions often happen when it’s dark, on the weekends and involve drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

A head on collision with a truck on a highway would be a nightmare come true. Unfortunately it was the reality for a Fernandina Beach man who was driving on I-95 in southern Georgia last month. A vehicle going the wrong way on a highway could have a number of causes, but negligence would almost certainly be a factor says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

Head on collisions, especially when they involve a passenger vehicle and a much larger commercial truck, have a high rate of serious injuries and fatalities. This accident took the life of the driver of an SUV, which was struck by a Federal Express semi-truck hauling tandem trailers that crossed a divider barrier and went into the opposite lanes, reports the Florida Times-Union. The driver and a passenger in the truck were not injured.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) issued a report of a study of wrong way crashes occurring on interstate freeways and expressways throughout the state from 2009 to 2013. During that time 280 crashes occurred causing more than 400 injuries and 75 deaths. Study results include,

• The majority of wrong way travel starts from entering the freeway/expressway from an exit ramp.
• Weekends and early morning hours were more common times for wrong way crashes.
• Alcohol and/or drugs were involved in 45% of wrong way crashes. That’s more than 16 times the proportion for freeway/expressway crashes in general for Florida.
• The majority of wrong way crashes (71%) happened when in dark conditions, while overall only 29% of accidents happened when it was dark.
• Drivers younger than 30 years old accounted for 42% of the wrong way crashes, which is 8% less than the number of all crashes attributable to that age group.
• Drivers 75 years old and older accounted for 4.6% of all the wrong way crashes in the study. This is more than three times the proportion from statewide trends on overall freeway/expressway crashes (1.4%). FDOT concluded these older drivers are more at higher risk of being in, if not causing, a wrong way-related crash.
• About 75% of wrong way crashes happened in urban areas and 25% in rural areas.
• The areas where wrong way crashes were most common were District 2 (49, Northeastern Florida), Turnpike System (49), District 6 (37, South Florida) and District 5 (35, Central Florida).

If you’re driving down the highway or street and see another vehicle headed towards you, you literally might not believe your eyes, especially if you’re driving at night or when visibility is poor. But these accidents happen and we represent those who suffer injuries, and the families of people killed, due to negligent drivers traveling the wrong way.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury caused in a vehicle accident involving a head on collision, contact Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne at (561) 293-2600 or fill out this online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and obtain compensation for your injuries.