By Doug Pacey / ADOT Communications

Tell someone you work at the Arizona Department of Transportation and you’re bound to hear a story or two or an earful about a personal experience with highways, the MVD or those weird safety messages. These anecdotes often come at the most unexpected times.

That was the case Friday morning when I stopped at a drive-thru coffee stand across the street from Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Making small talk with a young woman working there, she asked where I worked. When I told her, “ADOT,” her eyes widened and she excitedly told me how on her drive to work that morning on Interstate 17 she saw an overhead message board switch from displaying travel times to warning of an oncoming wrong-way driver. She’d never seen that before, she said, and immediately took the next exit where she saw a few police cruisers entering the highway.

We talked about the year-old thermal camera wrong-way detection system on I-17 and how it works, alerting law enforcement and other drivers to wrong-way vehicles. In fact, the system detected two wrong-way vehicles entering I-17 that morning. The first came at 3:15 a.m. at McDowell Road and the other at 4:29 a.m. at Dunlap Avenue. Both vehicles appeared to have self-corrected on the ramp before reaching the mainline.

She wondered, though, why so many other vehicles didn’t exit the highway when the message displayed. It’s a good question and conversations like this tell us a few things. First, we still have more work to do promoting the “Drive Aware, Get There” safety campaign geared toward helping people avoid wrong-way drivers. Second, the work we do to make highways safer affects every one of us, often when we least expect it. Know that we’ll continue to seek out countermeasures that will help reduce the number of traffic fatalities and serious injuries that occur each year.

By Doug Nintzel / ADOT Communications

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s wrong-way vehicle alert system being tested along a stretch of Interstate 17 in Phoenix has earned a special award for innovation.

ADOT’s first-in-the-nation pilot I-17 system, featuring 90 thermal cameras that detect and track wrong-way vehicles, was named the “Best in Class” winner in a Government Innovation Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The system, in operation since January of this year, has detected more than 40 wrong-way vehicles within the I-17 pilot project’s boundaries stretching 15 miles from the I-10 “Stack” interchange near downtown Phoenix to the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix.

Brent Cain, who leads ADOT’s Transportation Systems Management and Operations division, and David Riley, the I-17 system's project manager (shown in the photo above), accepted the award recently during a ceremony held by GCN, an information technology industry magazine and sponsor of the innovation awards competition.

“To earn a best in class award while sharing the evening’s event with agencies like the U.S. Navy, NASA and the FBI was very humbling,” Cain said. “This award recognizes the commitment of many people at ADOT as well as our private sector partners to reduce the risk of tragic wrong-way crashes, often caused by impaired drivers.”

ADOT’s I-17 system immediately alerts operators in the agency’s traffic operations center as well as the Arizona Department of Public Safety to the detection of a wrong-way vehicle, saving valuable response time for AZDPS troopers in the field and allowing ADOT to quickly post warning messages on overhead signs for other freeway drivers.

Fortunately, the vast majority of wrong-way drivers detected by the system’s thermal cameras so far have turned around on off-ramps without entering the freeway.

ADOT earned the Best in Class innovation award in the state and local category. The U.S. Navy won best in class in the defense category while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was recognized among federal-civilian finalists.

By Doug Nintzel / ADOT Communications

The Interstate 17 wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system in Phoenix has been up and running for almost six months now. As we reported this week, the results are promising.

Simply stated: The I-17 system, installed last fall along the busy 15 miles of the Black Canyon Freeway between the I-10 “Stack” near downtown and the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix, has worked as designed in detecting wrong-way vehicles entering ramps and immediately alerting ADOT and the state Department of Public Safety to those incidents.

ADOT’s I-17 pilot project is the first of its kind in the nation to use thermal traffic cameras as part of a computer-based decision support system that sounds an alarm when a wrong-way vehicle is detected turning onto a freeway off-ramp. An instant alert allows DPS to help its troopers respond quickly, rather than waiting for a 911 call, while also allowing ADOT to post warning messages for other drivers.

Since January, when the I-17 system went into operation, thermal cameras have detected more than 15 vehicles entering an off-ramp, mostly in late night or early morning hours. Above and below, we’ve included some examples of the thermal-camera video clips the system collects.

The majority of drivers in those cases turned around on the ramp. A few stayed on the frontage road, still driving in the wrong direction, and traveled out of a thermal camera’s view. To our knowledge, no crashes have been reported within the I-17 project’s boundaries this year.

That’s because, fortunately, none of those drivers traveled onto I-17’s mainline lanes. We can all be grateful for that. It’s possible they noticed the system’s special electronic wrong-way signs that light up with flashing red LED lights or quickly figured out they’d mistakenly turned onto an off ramp.

It’s important to note that most wrong-way drivers are impaired by alcohol and-or drugs. That’s a huge challenge to overcome. Technology obviously can’t prevent someone from becoming a wrong-way driver or prevent all tragic crashes caused by such drivers.

What the I-17 alert system is designed to do, and so far has done, is instantly detect potential wrong-way vehicles. The goal is to reduce the risks posed by these errant drivers. Other states are interested in this technology. ADOT will keep gathering information about the system’s performance this year and share the results. As noted earlier, so far they’ve been promising.

Please be a safe driver. Stay alert, buckle up and never drive while impaired. If you encounter someone who shouldn’t be behind the wheel, take their keys or, if that’s not possible, contact law enforcement.

By David Woodfill / ADOT Communications

In this week's Friday Five blog post, transportation officials from other states visited Arizona to witness our strides in developing wrong-way detection technology.

We also stumped you with a new "Where in AZ??" brain teaser and showed some of the latest pictures of the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway construction, which can be seen above.

Then Rubble the dog evaluated our work at one of those construction sites. (He approved.)

Finally, we time-traveled to 1978 when Hollywood royalty and high-flying aerobatics converged at the Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport. You'll never guess the movie star who attended that show and included some of the footage in one of his old movies.

Don’t forget to follow the hashtag #FridayFive on social media to see what others are sharing from their week.

1. Other states are looking to the Arizona Department of Transportation as they consider adopting wrong-way driver detection technology.

This week, we hosted law enforcement and transportation officials from California, Florida and Texas who wanted to learn more about our pilot test of wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system on Interstate 17 in Phoenix. The system is the first in the nation to use thermal detection cameras to identify vehicles that are traveling in the wrong direction.

Where in AZ??

2. A road, a hill and a 10 percent gradient-warning sign were the only clues we gave you in this week's "Where in AZ??" challenge.

Dustin Powers was the first on Facebook to guess the correct location, which was State Route 177 a few miles south of Superior on the road to Ray, Kearny and Winkelman.

Congratulations Dustin! You have a photographic memory that would put Vegas' best card sharks to shame.

Dog at the SMF construction Site

3. Rubble on the double! A cute member of the PAW Patrol oversaw some of our work on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway.

A quick-thinking member of ADOT's Traffic Operations Center got a picture of this little pooch showing a weird level of interest in the goings-on at the future L-202 and I-10 interchange near 59th Avenue and Interstate 10 in Phoenix.

Cute as he may be, he still has to apply at the state's official web site for job postings if he wants to be an ADOT employee. We suggest he try for the position of foreman.

SMF Construction

4. We revisited more construction sites for the South Mountain Freeway and got some impressive pictures, which we shared this week. They included the slideshow presentation featured above. Thumb through it to watch as crews set in place some extremely long girders to create two half-mile bridges that will span the Salt River.

If you don't get your fill, there's plenty more to explore on the South Mountain Freeway Flickr page.

Festival of Flight Airshow

5. For Throwback Thursday, we remembered the 1978 Festival of Flight airshow at the Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport.

One of the silver screen's biggest stars at the time visited the Valley and filmed scenes for a now-obscure 1980 movie. Another actor was so impressed by what he saw that he later earned his pilot’s license.

By Doug Nintzel / ADOT Communications

With last year’s installation of the pilot Interstate 17 wrong-way vehicle detection and warning system in Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Transportation has looked ahead to sharing information about the project with other states also responding to challenges involving often-impaired wrong-way drivers.

An opportunity to do that happened this month when members of ADOT’s Transportation Systems Management and Operations Division staff, as well as the state Department of Public Safety and the Federal Highway Administration’s Arizona Division, held a peer exchange with law enforcement and transportation officials from California, Florida and Texas.

Those attending the event at ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center in Phoenix had a chance to learn more about the first-in-the-nation wrong-way vehicle system using thermal detection cameras, 90 of them in all. It has been in operation since January along a 15-mile stretch of I-17 between the I-10 “Stack” interchange and the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix.

Peer Exchange Event

Speakers from ADOT and DPS emphasized the strong partnership between the two agencies as a side-by-side effort to reduce the risk of wrong-way vehicle incidents along state highways, including Phoenix-area freeways.

A tour of the Traffic Operations Center’s control room highlighted how operators are prepared to respond to an alert of a wrong-way vehicle. DPS discussed the recent decision to have state troopers stationed at their own control room console 24 hours a day.

The around-the-clock presence provides DPS with expanded communication with troopers out in the field who need to be ready to respond if alerts or calls about wrong-way vehicles come in.

ADOT’s $4 million I-17 wrong-way alert system, funded by the Maricopa Association of Governments, features an innovative computerized decision support system to manage communication among key components.

The system’s thermal cameras are positioned to detect wrong-way vehicles entering I-17 off-ramps, immediately triggering new illuminated wrong-way signs with flashing red lights aimed at getting the attention of the wrong-way driver.

Peer Exchange Event

A detection also instantly alerts ADOT and DPS, allowing faster communication with troopers and local law enforcement instead of depending on 911 calls from other freeway drivers. ADOT in turn can quickly warn drivers with wrong-way vehicle messages on overhead freeway signs.

Technology, including the I-17 system, cannot prevent all wrong-way crashes from happening. The primary goal, as shared with the representatives from other states this week, is to reduce the risk of serious crashes by saving valuable time for law enforcement response and for warning other drivers.

ADOT continues to work with DPS and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to promote efforts to stop impaired driving, a leading factor in wrong-way crashes.

By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

When it comes to reducing the number of vehicle crashes, fatalities and serious injuries, real change has to begin in the driver’s seat. Irresponsible drivers that are drunk, drugged, distracted or who think speed limits are a "suggestion" will continue to hurt and kill our loved ones unless we all start doing something about it. We choose how we behave behind the wheel. To make our roads safer, we must choose to take responsibility and keep drunks and drug-impaired people from getting behind the wheel.

This is especially important when trying to prevent wrong-way crashes. About two-thirds of all wrong-way drivers are impaired by alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medication. These people have no business getting behind the wheel. Yet, impaired drivers remain a leading factor in fatal crashes of all kinds.

On the engineering side, the Arizona Department of Transportation will do everything we can to reduce wrong-way crashes. The first-in-the-nation wrong-way detection pilot project on Interstate 17 is in testing and will be operational in early 2018. We’ve also installed hundreds of "wrong way" signs on highway ramps and overpasses.

And earlier this week, in partnership with the Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, ADOT launched "Drive Aware, Get There," a wrong-way awareness safety campaign. The goal of “Drive Aware, Get There,” is simple: educate drivers on what they can do to increase their safety when driving at night, what to do if they encounter a wrong-way vehicle and what actions to take if they see an overhead sign warning of a wrong-way vehicle ahead.

We all must work together to reduce wrong-way crashes. Please do your part and keep impaired people from getting behind the wheel during the holiday party season and throughout the year.

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.