New 'Wrong Way' signs approved for North Texas Tollway Authority -- aim is to stop drunk driving head-ons

Signs reading "Wrong way" and "Do not enter" will be installed on North Texas Tollway Authority roads at a lowered height, in an effort to curb a recent rash of head-on collisions, officials said Tuesday. The agency, which will unveil the new signs Wednesday morning at its maintenance center in Dallas, recently got permission from the Federal Highway Administration to install the signs lower than the height that's normally allowed for road signs, officials said. The bottom of the new signs will be two feet off the ground, compared to the normal seven feet, spokesman Michael Rey said. "Impaired drivers are almost always at the wheel in wrong-way crashes," he said. "Studies show impaired drivers tend to look downt at the ground, or very low."

The tollway authority engaged the help of the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University to test the new signs. Primarily, the tests were performed to ensure the signs didn't increase the risk of crash-related injuries for traffic going the correct way on a road, Rey said. Some of the new signs also feature flashing light-emitting diodes, he said. Officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are scheduled to attend the unveiling of the new signs. The event is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the NTTA Maintenance Cener, Reagan and Sylvester streets in north Dallas.

Read more: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/honkin_mad/2011/07/new-wrong-way-signs-approved-for-north-texas-tollway-authority-aim-is-to-stop-drunk-driving-head-ons.html#ixzz1Rzoq3e00