A driver is recovering in the hospital following a wrong way crash along U.S. 395 north of Bordertown late Sunday night.
Around 11:45 p.m., a drunk driver travelling south in the northbound lanes of U.S. 395 hit another car.
The wrong way driver was arrested and charged for driving under the influence. The other driver was taken to a nearby hospital via Care Flight.
No deaths were reported in relation to the crash, but fatalities are always a possibility for any wrong way collision.
NDOT’s Wrong Way Driver Systems light up when they detect a wrong way driver. Photo courtesy of NDOT.
In Nevada, the Nevada Department of Transportation, or NDOT, places Wrong Way and Do Not Enter signs at all freeway off-ramps, but some interchanges require a higher-tech solution.
The Wrong Way Driver System uses radar and closed-circuit cameras to detect wrong way drivers. Flashing lights or beacons are then set off to alert the driver.
NDOT says this system is 95% effective.
Since July 1, 2023, the agency has detected 319 wrong way drivers using this technology. 304 of them turned around.
NDOT says just because the other 5% continued going the wrong way onto the freeway, that doesn’t mean they got into a crash.
Below is an interactive map of all 36 Wrong Way Driver Systems in northern Nevada, as well as wrong way crashes that have occurred around Reno, Sparks, and Carson City since 2023.
Each system is represented by a blue dot, which includes where and when the system was installed, and whether it’s on both sides of the freeway.
Red dots represent the crashes and include the exact location according to Nevada Highway Patrol reports, the date, whether alcohol or drugs were involved, and any additional factors such as hit & run.
Nevada Highway Patrol says most wrong way crashes in Nevada happen at night and involve some form of impairment.
When driving at night, drivers should avoid the fast lane due to the risk of wrong way drivers.
“That's where wrong way drivers tend to be traveling because they think they're on the right side of the road and they're looking for the exit, or they're trying to stay in the slow lane to stay out of trouble,” says James LaRose, Public Information Officer, Nevada Highway Patrol.
Call 911 to report any wrong way driver immediately. Include a description of the vehicle and your location, as well as the license plate number if you can get that information.
The raw data used to make the graph above can be found below. Both files are in PDF format.
