Crashes on reversible HOV lanes jumped, stats show

When 29-year-old Montreal D. Fuller drove the wrong way out of the reversible Interstate 64 HOV lanes on Dec. 30, the resulting crash left two dead and mangled traffic for hours.

It also raised questions about how something like that could happen.

The Virginia Department of Transportation says the barriers that control the flow of traffic on the reversible lanes were operating properly that afternoon. Fuller's former boss has said he might have had a seizure, but a toxicology report and State Police investigation are still pending.

The crash occurred shortly before 1:30 p.m. when Fuller drove through several lighted barriers and ended up in opposing traffic on Interstate 264 West, colliding head-on with another vehicle.

Fuller, who lived in Norfolk, and the other driver, 57-year-old Frances J. Wilson, of Chesapeake, died at the scene.

Though not a common occurrence, it wasn't the first incident on the reversible lanes. Between 2005 and 2008, there were 25 crashes in the I-64 reversible lanes, according to statistics obtained from VDOT through the Freedom of Information Act. Data for 2009 were not available. And last year, the reversible lanes' 30 barrier gates had to be repaired, maintained or replaced more than 70 times, according to VDOT.

Traffic safety experts say that's a low number of crashes and maintain that the reversible lanes are safe.

On the reversible I-64 HOV lanes, there were four crashes in 2005, five in 2006 and four in 2007, according to VDOT. The number tripled in 2008 to 12 crashes. But a one-year jump doesn't necessarily indicate a problem, said Robert Case, principal transportation engineer for the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

"It does sort of cause you to scratch your head a little bit," he said. But "there's a fair amount of randomness in it."

Transportation officials will need to monitor crash data for the next two years, Case said. If they see a sustained increase over a three-year period, then they might need to look at making some changes, he said.

"I've never heard of any safety concerns about the reversible lanes," Case said. "They may be much safer than other lanes."

A breakdown of what caused the crashes was not available. Sgt. Michelle Cotten, a State Police spokeswoman, said rear-end collisions and crashes caused by speed and driver inattention are common on the reversible lanes. There's also the occasional drunken driver, she said.

The reversible lanes, with ramps that are open at some times of the day and closed at others, can be confusing, even for sober, attentive drivers, said Norfolk resident Howard Copeland, a former member of the House of Delegates. He takes the I-64 East HOV lanes to I-264 East almost every weekend, he said.

"It just seems to me that it's a bad design," he said. "I've been driving stone sober and at a moderate speed, and it's frightening."

"You have to make a sudden, conscious decision to bear right instead of going straight ahead," he said.

Although there aren't many crashes in the reversible lanes, it's not uncommon for drivers to strike the barrier gates that control access to them, said VDOT spokeswoman Nora Jump-Scott.

Last year, VDOT had to repair, replace or perform maintenance on the gates at least 72 times, she wrote in an e-mail. That number includes repairs from drivers hitting the gates, weather-related damage and routine maintenance.

Because the gates require such frequent attention, VDOT always keeps extras on hand, Jump-Scott said. When Fuller drove through several of the barriers the day of his fatal crash, VDOT had repaired them by the end of the day.

Reversible HOV lanes are somewhat rare in the United States.

There are 216 interstates nationwide with concurrent HOV lanes - those that run alongside regular traffic lanes and are usually separated by painted lines or concrete barriers, according to the Federal Highway Administration. There are only 27 highways in eight states with reversible HOV lanes.

Dallas, San Diego, Denver and New Orleans are among the cities utilizing reversible highway lanes. Some use barrier gates to change the traffic flow each day, like on I-64. Others use moveable, concrete barriers.

The barrier gates are approved by the Federal Highway Administration and are safe, Jump-Scott said.

"They are deemed safe in every way," she said. But "motorists have to be alert while they're driving."

Some transportation departments have taken extra precautions to avoid the type of crash that occurred here Dec. 30. The west entrance to the Interstate 70 reversible lanes in St. Louis is equipped with a safety net that will stop vehicles that drive through the barrier gates, preventing them from driving the wrong way in traffic, said Deanna Venker, engineer for the St. Louis area for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"It has the capacity of stopping a tractor trailer in a matter of seconds," she said. The net debuted in 2005 and hasn't been used yet, she said.

Right now there are no plans to change how the I-64 reversible lanes operate, Jump-Scott said.

The barrier gates here are very similar to systems used on other reversible lanes throughout the country, said Keith Nichols, senior transportation engineer for the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.

"I've never heard or seen anything in my research or in discussions with other researchers to indicate that their systems have any problems with safety," he said. "We have not seen any problems with the reversible lanes."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com