Dealing with a tragedy... Need your input

[Robinrs]

The bus that fell on I-75 Friday was at my exit to work. If you haven't heard about it this is an article on it: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/02/bus.accident/index.html


I pass it everyday and flowers and wreaths now adorn it. Six people lost their lives there on an exit that I've been complaining about for YEARS. It's terribly confusing but nothing is ever done about it.

Everyday the Dept of Transportation is on the TV talking about it. They want "suggestions" on how to better this exit. I'd like to know something about your expressways...

Does your area have many LEFT EXITS? Is the signage clear and given for miles?

Seems like the driver took this exit thinking it was still the expressway..??? That blew my mind unless it's not something he is used to seeing... is that possible?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LisaNJ25]

The only left exits off of major highways I can think of around here are to get to a rest stop.

Is their any warning that a stop sign is coming?

 

[Tiggeroo]

I was on 295 two days ago and twice nearly got onto an exit on the left accidentally. Left exits are very rare and do cause confusion.
On the way home my son was driving and ended up off the road because he got off on one of these exits, so we ended up taking the long way home.

 

[mickeyboat]

I have been on many roads with left exits. They are always marked very clearly, and the signs over the road are marked in yellow at the bottom and say left exit.

I have gotten off on a left exit / HOV lane before, and ended up in the middle of Washington, DC when I thought I was still in the HOV lane of 95. I think we just paid attention to the HOV signs, and didn't realize it was an exit.

I what kind of road does that exit end at? I was really surprised there was only a stop sign there, and not a traffic light.

So I can completely understand why this driver might have missed the fact that he was on an exit and not still in the HOV lane.

Denae

 

[Chicago526]

Around here the only left exits I know of are much closer to the city (Chicago). Local drivers are used to it, but out-of-towners could be confused, I guess. The signs are pretty clear though, and I can't remember hearing about an accident cause by a confused driver (doesn't mean it hasn't happened, of course).

 

[C.Ann]

I can recall very few left exits in this area - (actually I can only think of one offhand) and the signs indicating that you are approaching it are in my estimation "fair" at best..

When driving in other states where left exits are common, I find it very confusing - not to mention scary! I can see how people not familiar with the roads and the exits could very easily make a tragic mistake such as the one reported in the bus incident..

 

[Robinrs]

I have been on many roads with left exits. They are always marked very clearly, and the signs over the road are marked in yellow at the bottom and say left exit.

I have gotten off on a left exit / HOV lane before, and ended up in the middle of Washington, DC when I thought I was still in the HOV lane of 95. I think we just paid attention to the HOV signs, and didn't realize it was an exit.

I what kind of road does that exit end at? I was really surprised there was only a stop sign there, and not a traffic light.

So I can completely understand why this driver might have missed the fact that he was on an exit and not still in the HOV lane.

Denae

It ends up on Northside Drive, a MAJOR intersection with five lanes!! To the right is Ikea and Atlantic Station and to the left is Buckhead, a very high end part of town with many businesses and nightlife so imagine the traffic and confusion there. I never understood why there was no light there, it's literally SUICIDE to make a left hand turn there, but I'm willing to BET there will be one there soon.

 

[kfeuer]

I'm in Atlanta too and I hate those HOV left lane exits. However, I can't imagine getting off on one and not realizing it. I wonder how long he'd been driving? After a long time behind the wheel it's easy to go on "auto-pilot" and perhaps that's what happened. I guess we'll never know for sure.

 

[java]

The only lefts I can think of are on I95 for the rest stops and then there is the left turn off in VA to get onto a highway... I can't recall a straight away exit like that. The signage should be prominent with EXIT ONLY signs posted clearly. Also around here where there is a stop in an unusual spot they have rumble strips. row of them... After the first row you get the point- by the 4th you are stopped because of that darn bumping around. So my suggestion is proper signs that it is an EXIT! and rumble strips.
That story really broke my heart. Just so terrible and I am sorry you have to drive by that spot everyday. It usually takes a tragedy to get the local municipality to change something. I hope you get an improvement.

 

[mickeyboat]

I'm in Atlanta too and I hate those HOV left lane exits. However, I can't imagine getting off on one and not realizing it. I wonder how long he'd been driving? After a long time behind the wheel it's easy to go on "auto-pilot" and perhaps that's what happened. I guess we'll never know for sure.

I heard he was a fresh driver, and had only been on the road for an hour. I saw on the news where they showed the signs on the exit. They did say exit, but they were the same color as the regular HOV signs.

I still can't believe there wasn't a traffic light there. The river would have seen that, and atl least have tried to brake before it was too late.

 

[Christine]

We have a number of left exits off of our HOV lanes that go up onto bridges just like the one in Atlanta. We also have left exits off the major interstate that will put you onto other major roads, or onto an HOV lane.

I kept looking and looking at the TV trying to figure out how the driver could have confused that. I'm thinking he must have been very tired. I don't find them confusing at all, but again, I guess I'm used to them.

 

[hiwaygal]

I have heard a little about some of the signing for this intersection/ramp.

From what I've heard, the DOT is using "non-standard" signage.

The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is the roadway signage designers "bible". Having uniform signage (particularly on an interstate) ensures that TRAVELLING drivers recognise signs all over the country. I.E. how effective would a stop sign be if it were red in one state and blue/green/purple in another?

Exit signs are usually placed on the side of the road the exit is located.

But, if the signs were not standard, it's easy to see how a driver would not realize what was happening until it's too late.

 

[OK!]

There are only a few left-exits around here that I can think of, and they're signed much like "exit only" right exits, with the yellow on the large overhead signs, starting well in advance of the actual exit.

I saw an animation on cnn.com (I think) of the path the bus had taken before going off of the overpass and it seemed like a very easy mistake to make, especially before it was light out and for someone unfamiliar with the area. How terrifying!

 

[C.Ann]

It ends up on Northside Drive, a MAJOR intersection with five lanes!! To the right is Ikea and Atlantic Station and to the left is Buckhead, a very high end part of town with many businesses and nightlife so imagine the traffic and confusion there. I never understood why there was no light there, it's literally SUICIDE to make a left hand turn there, but I'm willing to BET there will be one there soon.

--------------------------

I just looked at the animation and that is INSANE that there is no light there!!!! How would an out of town driver - driving in the dark - ever know they were supposed to stop at the top of that HOV lane????

That needs to be fixed - YESTERDAY!!!!!

 

[sharbear]

Robin, I live very close to the area where Bluffton College is located. You can imagine that this story has been on our news alot. It's very interesting that you commented on this exit and that you (as an resident and frequent traveler of this road) wondered if this exit should be better marked.

The bus driver was from an area very close to Bluffton. I've driven from that area on I-75 through Atlanta and those are the first HOV lanes that you encounter. The local news had a former Director of Transportation who happens to be from the area and she confirmed what I thought. There are places where 75 does exit to the left but they seem to be marked differently than what the news is showing here. They tend to curve sharply and are marked with yellow signs and any one that I have ever exited off of went directly to a road, you never stopped and the exit never ended abruptly like this exit did.

It's a very sad situation. The bus driver seems to be a very upstanding citizen and the parents have never blamed the bus driver for the accident. It's a nice religious school and the community is broken up about this.

Christine, the driver was fresh. He had only been driving for an hour as they changed bus driver outside of Atlanta. Like I said, this is not something that he would have encountered closer to home. There are not any HOV lanes in Detroit, Dayton Cincinnati, or Knoxville (cities on I-75 that the driver might have been on).

 

[Micca]

Hey Robin. How is the lighting at night? My night vision is terrible and it scares me so I avoid driving in the dark as much as possible, but the better the light, the better I can drive. Maybe there should be more light there? Or maybe the driver was just fatigued and disoriented and nothing could have prevented this?

 

[budbeerlady]

I really hope things are changed for the better regarding signage and lighting, it is really too bad that people need to die (or several) before things are changed. I have never been on a left exit and it would scare the daylights outa me to come up on one!

We have a VERY dangerous road area about a mile before my office, several people have died there. People make a petition, its on the news and a month or two later its done with and nothing has changed. Too many semi-trucks and people who dont know the area make the problem worse by us.

 

[5Slays]

We only have 1 left exit, but the left lane is not the exit. You have to veer (like most right exits) to the off ramp.

 

[Becky2005]

We only have a couple left exits and they are going into the city. Unfortunately signage isn't very good. If it wasn't for mapquest TELLING me the exit would be on the left, I wouldn't have known to be in the correct lane.

Other than that, ALL exits seem to be on the right.

I know the first time we went to TN I about freaked because we had cars merging from the right & left plus exits on the right & left. I was so confused. I was just trying to make sure we didn't get squashed by semi's.

 

[Towncrier]

I heard a suggestion that the exit ramp could have rumble strips added to give driver's an additional "clue" that this was an exit and not a normal lane.

Robin - Please know that the kids on that bus have nothing but praise for the people of Atlanta and the Atlanta Red Cross. They made that clear to the local newpeople and wanted to make sure that everyone on NE Ohio knows just how much support they received after the accident. There was a lot of love felt by those boys from Ohio given by the wonderful folks who where there in a heartbeat to lend a helping hand. Sometimes the worst tragedy brings out the best in people. And the folks of Atlanta really stepped up this time. Try to remember that thought on your daily trip on that stretch of I-75.