Latest news with #highwaysafety
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Colorado State Patrol shares tips on how to avoid hitting a wrong-way driver
Colorado State Patrol troopers are bringing awareness to a dangerous trend they are starting to see more of: wrong-way drivers on Colorado highways. The most recent wrong-way driving incident was reported Sunday night in downtown Denver. A driver was going the wrong way on Park Avenue and Larimer, both one-way streets. The second report was on July 21. This wrong-way crash killed a couple on Highway 285 in Morrison. Troopers say this crash is still under investigation. Boulder Police is also bringing awareness to this problem by sharing a wrong-way driver video on social media. Police say the driver was on the wrong side of Highway 36 on May 25 around 5:10 a.m. The driver went at speeds up to 110 mph, and several cars had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision. Boulder police say that because of their quick response, no one was hurt. This driver was arrested and now faces charges of DUI, drug possession, and multiple traffic violations. Troopers with CSP say there are ways to avoid getting hit by a wrong-way driver. First, get off the highway or road immediately. Pull into a shoulder or safe area. Make sure you are out of the lane they are traveling in. Troopers say it does not matter where you are; a wrong-way driver hitting you head-on is always dangerous. "With drivers going the wrong direction, even if it's the case of them not knowing the area and accidentally making the wrong turn, they could hit a pedestrian using the crosswalks," Colorado State Trooper Gabriel Moltrer said. There could be other vehicles that will not know that you were coming and could cause a head-on collision." Usually, the way to report any incident is with license plate information. This could be tricky with a wrong-way driver. Troopers say you should call 911 and let them know the exact location. Use a mile marker and direction of travel if it's a highway. Use local attractions or other landmarks if you're in a city.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Marae along dangerous stretch of SH1 call for return of lower speed limit following death
Descendants of Wehi Wehi and Tūkorehe Marae protest the decision to raise the speed limit on State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin from 80km/h to 100km/h in early June 2025. Photo: Supplied/Te Reo o Te Uru Two Marae along a dangerous stretch of State Highway 1 are calling for the return of the 80 kph speed limit after a crash that killed a motorcyclist on Tuesday . Wehi Wehi and Tūkorehe Marae both sit on SH1 south of Levin, between Ōhau and Manakau. Emergency services were called to a fatal two-vehicle crash near Manakau on Tuesday. The road was closed for nearly four hours with Tūkorehe Marae opening its doors and providing water to waiting drivers. Changes to the speed limit on the stretch of highway came into affect on 1 July 2025, increasing from 80 kph to 100 kph. Alicia Miratana is a descendent of Ngāti Wehiwehi and lives in Manakau, she said two decades ago Ngāti Wehiwehi fought to have the double lanes outside the Marae removed, they were replaced with traffic islands but Miratana said speed was still the issue. "That stretch of road between Manakau, Kuku, Ōhau right up to Levin has been acknowledged that it is one of the most dangerous parts of State Highway 1 throughout New Zealand. There have been so many accidents, so many casualties along that stretch of road." Wehi Wehi Marae sits right beside the highway and Miratama said it had a big impact on how the Marae operates. "We have our kaumātua that no longer walk to the Marae it is just too unsafe for them, we don't allow our tamariki to walk home from the Marae it is not for them. But the biggest fear we have for Ngāti Wehiwehi is that we have a Kōhanga Reo on our Marae." The road was just too unpredictable to have tamariki walking along it, she said. It also caused worry when the Marae hosted any kind of hui. "Our pae taumata are constantly running out there, that is one of our tikanga to go and make sure that our manuhiri that are standing at the waharoa are safe. But is it really safe? "It's gotten to the point now that we've had to seriously think about how do we look after our manuhiri, they're contending with cars that are going at 100 kilometers an hour on the road and we have to make sure that their safety comes first before our karanga has even gone out." Three kilometres up the road from Wehi Wehi was Tūkorehe Marae. Ngāti Tukorehe Tribal Committee chairperson Pikitia Heke said pleas to keep the stretch of highway at the 80 kph speed limit had "fallen on deaf ears". At the beginning of June descendants of Tūkorehe and Wehi Wehi Marae protested the speed increase with what Heke called a "katiakitanga demonstration." "When the speed limit went down to 80 we didn't have any fatalities on our road. There wasn't any significant crashes on our road and then - as soon as it went up - there's been two crashes today that I know of," Heke said. Heke said she drove by the aftermath of one crash shortly before hearing of a second that closed the road on Tuesday. When there was a crash and the traffic backed up they were lucky the Marae was right there and they could open up the toilets and provide water to stuck motorists, she said. "We can't offer much but we try." She said the iwi had approached local ministers and MPs about reducing the speed limit but to no avail. "It's dangerous. There's a lot of sharp turns, over-bridges. When you go over the over-bridges in both Kuku and in Manakau you can't see because they're on hills and they're turning at the same time. So there's no real clear vision. Unless you know where you're going - or know the road - it's unsafe really." A banner from Ngāti Wehiwehi opposing increasing the speed limit on State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin from 80km/h to 100km/h. Photo: Supplied/Alicia Miratana Miratana said this was not the first time people living along that stretch of highway had helped out drivers in trouble. "I live pretty much in the danger zone on State Highway 1, and for many years now me and my family and all my extended family have been the ones to go over to make sure they are all right." Adding to the danger was the fact the land around SH1 south of Levin included a lot of agricultural land. "So you've also got things tractors that come out of that road onto State Highway 1, you have trucks that come out onto State Highway 1. How many deaths does this government want? If they do not listen to us there are going to be more accidents, more deaths on this road if they don't reduce the speed," Miratana said. The iwi were worried it was only a matter of time before there was another crash, she said. RNZ approached the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
‘Speed contest' caught by specially marked CHP cruiser on 60 Freeway
A California Highway Patrol officer's dashcam was rolling as an Alfa Romeo Giulia and a Chrysler 300 raced past his modified cruiser on the 60 Freeway in Chino earlier this week. Video from the Specially Marked Patrol Vehicle (SMPV) shows the officer immediately speeding up to follow the two vehicles as they pass at a high rate of speed shortly before noon on Monday. The driver of the Chrysler, a 21-year-old from Moreno Valley, was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of reckless driving and speed contest, CHP Rancho Cucamonga posted on Instagram Thursday. 'His vehicle was towed, and he now faces criminal charges. The driver of the Alfa Romero Giulia is subject to arrest at a later time,' the post reads. SMPV cruisers are painted with alternate colors and are harder to identify by motorists, allowing officers to catch reckless drivers who are on the lookout for traditional units. The CHP reminded drivers that they remain committed to stopping street racing and keeping highways safe. 'If you choose to race, you could end up in jail, lose your car, or worse — cause a deadly tragedy,' the CHP stated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
Manitoba plan to upgrade Carberry intersection where bus crash killed 17 faces opposition
A scorched patch of ground where a bus carrying seniors ended up after colliding with a transport truck and is seen on the edge of the Trans-Canada Highway where it intersects with Hwy 5, near Carberry, Man., Friday, June 16, 2023. The crash killed 17 people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck CARBERRY -- Bureaucrats and consultants got an earful from local residents Wednesday night as they presented their preferred safety upgrade to a highway intersection where a crash killed 17 people in 2023. Although the final decision will rest with politicians, the Transportation Department, in conjunction with two firms hired to help weigh different options, is suggesting a design known as an RCUT, or restricted crossing U-turn. The design allows traffic on the main highway to flow freely, while people on a side highway are prevented from crossing directly or turning left. Instead, they must turn right, merge with traffic, execute a U-turn and then merge again. 'It's just a recipe for disaster, honestly,' Debra Steen, a resident who helped collect more than 2,000 signatures on a petition against the RCUT. 'The R-cut will not work here because we have large farming equipment, and we have trucking associations.' Steen was among dozens of residents who attended an open house on the proposed change in a crowded school gymnasium, with many telling the government hosts the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 5 needs an overpass to separate traffic. At times, the meeting hosts asked for order and for people to speak one at a time. Tragedy struck at the intersection in June 2023 when a bus carrying 24 seniors from the Dauphin area, heading south on Highway 5, crossed into the path of an eastbound semi-trailer on Highway 1. The latter road is part of the Trans-Canada Highway system. The semi-trailer had the right of way, and the bus driver had a yield sign. The collision caused the bus to catch fire and end up in a ditch. Some of the 17 who died were thrown from the vehicle. Police and Crown attorneys did not lay charges, saying they could not prove the bus driver's actions that day rose to the level of being criminal. The intersection currently allows traffic to flow freely on the Trans-Canada Highway, while vehicles on Highway 5 have a stop sign as they first arrive at the intersection, followed by a yield sign in the median. The NDP government promised to improve the intersection and floated several possibilities, ranging from a roundabout -- rejected because it might slow down traffic -- to a wider median that would provide more space for trucks waiting to cross the Trans-Canada or turn left onto it. The RCUT was chosen because it has fewer points of conflict where vehicles heading in different directions might collide, a Transportation department official said. 'It's a common intersection treatment in some of the United States,' Dustin Booy, executive director of highway engineering services, said. 'Saskatchewan recently constructed their first RCUT northwest of Saskatoon and it seems to be operating very effectively from a safety performance perspective.' A RCUT also allows vehicles from the smaller highway to get up to speed while merging instead of coming to a stop and then having to speed up quickly, Booy said. Many at Wednesday's gathering were not won over by the illustrated boards that touted the RCUT. One man was applauded when he said a better option would be to widen the intersection, replace the yield sign in the median with a stop sign, and reduce the speed on the Trans-Canada Highway for several hundred metres in each direction. 'We all know how dangerous the intersection is right now. We've all seen ... wrecks. I can't believe there hasn't been a lot more fatalities,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
CTV News
25-06-2025
- CTV News
Manitoba eyes 3 options to improve intersection where crash killed 17
A scorched patch of ground where a bus carrying seniors ended up after colliding with a transport truck and is seen on the edge of the Trans-Canada Highway where it intersects with Hwy 5, near Carberry, Man., Friday, June 16, 2023. The crash killed 17 people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck CARBERRY — The Manitoba government is moving closer to changing a highway intersection where a bus crash killed 17 people, but there is controversy over the plan. The province is holding an open house tonight in Carberry, west of Winnipeg, not far from where a minibus carrying 24 seniors tried to cross the Trans-Canada Highway and was struck by a semi-trailer in 2023. The province has discussed three options: widening the median, turning the intersection into a roundabout, or banning left turns onto the highway, which would force people to turn right before making a U-turn. A meeting notice says the preferred option is to be presented at the meeting, and some area residents say the province has been pushing the third alternative, known as a R-cut. Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead says he still wants an overpass built — an option the government has said it's not considering. No charges were laid in the bus crash, as police said they could not prove the bus driver's actions that day rose to the level of being criminal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
