Wrong Way

All too often we read about a deadly crash on the Northway involving a driver going the wrong way . How could this happen, we ask. The crash is usually explained by saying the driver must be intoxicated, elderly, inexperienced, or in some way otherwise impaired. Usually there are such contributing factors, but most new drivers, and elderly drivers, and those under the influence of some sort of drugs,do not enter a major highway in the wrong lane. I think there is another factor, and that is the placement of signs at the access ramps. Take, for example, (and this is not the only such in the area) the Northway ramps at Exit 9 in Clifton Park. There are 2 Southbound entry lanes right next to the 2 Northbound exit lanes. On the narrow median separating the entry lanes from the exit lanes is a big red sign reading Do Not Enter. When you head south into the entry lane, the sign is as close to you as it would be to the errant driver who might be thinking of mistakenly entering the exit lane to the north. So there are 4 lanes side by side and equally spaced and the Do Not Enter sign is smack in the center, seemingly warning drivers entering the left southbound lane not to do so. A few yards down the road is another red sign warning, "Wrong Lane, Go Back." Again this sign is right in the middle of the 4 lanes, and easily read by southbound drivers who are in their correct lane. Thus, we as drivers become accustomed to disregarding large warning signs. The signs look as if they apply to us, but we know they do not; they're meant for any potentially misguided drivers who might be one lane over from us. And becoming used to thinking warning signs right in our faces do not mean us is a recipe for disaster. We do all right in familiar and ordinary circumstances, but different locations, snowstorms, rainfall, driver fatigue, and yes, even the effects of drugs can be lethal when combined with an awareness that some signs do not always mean exactly what they say. Ambiguous appearing signs may not be the primary cause of wrong-way accidents, but should definitely be considered as a contributing factor.