An Oklahoma nonprofit founded by a mother who lost her daughter to a wrong-way driver is working with state officials to explore technology aimed at preventing similar tragedies. Two wrong-way crashes on Oklahoma highways this week — one on the Kilpatrick Turnpike and another on Interstate 44 — are prompting renewed efforts to improve driver safety, with investigators saying both crashes involved allegedly impaired drivers.
Personal Loss Drives Change
Kristy Murrow, co-founder of Victims of Impaired Drivers, knows the pain such crashes can cause. “We lost our 19-year-old daughter, Marissa. She was a sophomore at UCLA, coming home for the weekend, and was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver on the Kilpatrick Turnpike,” Murrow said. Nearly six years after her daughter’s death, VOID is now working with state Rep. Nicole Miller to help prevent similar tragedies.
“Through this study, I want to examine how Oklahoma addresses wrong-way driving, learn from what other states are doing and explore whether technology and other safety measures can provide earlier warnings to drivers and help prevent another family from experiencing such a devastating loss,” Miller said. Murrow highlighted the need for systems that not only alert wrong-way drivers but also notify drivers heading toward the danger.
Technology and Safety Measures
“What’s missing is the piece where we notify the right-way drivers so that they can take defensive action, knowing that there’s danger coming their way. So, we requested the interim study to look at the various technologies and the potential for not only allowing the current technology to continue to work and be improved upon, but also possibly implementing a pilot program,” Murrow said. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has already implemented technology at various locations across the state that uses flashing lights to alert wrong-way drivers.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also supports research into this issue but emphasized that personal accountability is the most effective solution. The study is expected to take place this fall, with a panel of experts from public safety and transportation being assembled to explore the topic in a presentation.
Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
