Wrong-Way Vehicle System

The use of thermal detection cameras to spot wrong-way vehicles on freeway off-ramps along Phoenix-area freeways will continue to grow, especially after the cameras have worked well as part of a pilot project along Interstate 17. 

As one example, you can look ahead to significant stretches of Loop 101 currently being widened to also have the thermal camera wrong-way vehicle alert technology added.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has already expanded use of the technology, with plans to do more as time and funding allow.

They say virtue is its own award. We would say that helping everyone get home safely after a hard day's work, a weekend escape or a night out is also its own award.

But occasionally we are recognized for doing just that.

The Arizona Department of Transportation has received a 2019 National Roadway Safety Award for the wrong-way vehicle alert system being tested on Interstate 17 in Phoenix.

There’s no single, engineering solution to solving wrong-way drivers.

Those on my team at ADOT know I am hesitant to brag on our success as a group of communicators. It's never about us. But that is a disservice to the accomplishments of the ADOT Communications team.

If you see your sign, here's what to do and what's happening behind the scenes.

A recent peer-to-peer exchange brought representatives of the North Texas Tollway Authority to ADOT's Traffic Operations Center.

Early Monday, ADOT's I-17 wrong-way vehicle alert system alerted ADOT and DPS to a wrong-way driver on I-17. See the footage of the system's thermal cameras in action during this incident.

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s pilot Interstate 17 wrong-way vehicle alert system being tested in Phoenix has been recognized with a Government Innovation Award from GCN, an information technology industry magazine.