Q I hear from time to time about people being seriously injured or killed when their vehicle has a head-on collision with another, usually driven by someone under the influence, going the wrong way. I have often wondered what I would do if confronted with such a situation. What avoidance tactics do your experts at the CHP recommend?
A I fired your e-mail to Hugo-the-CHP-Man, who suddenly faced a wrong-way driver while on patrol two years ago on Interstate 80 near American Canyon Road — just as he entered a blind curve. He swerved and missed the fast-approaching car, which a few moments later slammed head-on into another driver, putting that motorist into a coma for six months. Said Hugo:
“What I did to avoid the vehicle was to swerve to the right. It was more of an instinct rather than training, but I did manage to avoid the head-on collision. Many of the wrong-way drivers get on the freeways and immediately go all the way to the right side of the freeway, or the fast lane, because they think it is the slow lane. And because they are most likely impaired, they don’t want to get pulled over for speeding.
“So, at night, stay away from the fast lane, especially around blind curves. Stay away from the slow lane, too. It is much safer to travel in the middle lanes of the freeway at night because you never know
what you might encounter on the road, and by being in the middle lanes there is more room to maneuver around a problem.
“Another good tip is to have a vehicle always in front of you within the same lane, at a good distance, of course. The driver of the vehicle ahead of you is another set of eyes that is basically clearing your lane ahead of you. Keep a high visual horizon as you drive. Look up ahead and scan the freeway. You can easily look ahead at least a quarter of a mile during light traffic. People tend to look no further than a couple of hundred feet ahead of them. This can prove deadly sometimes.
“Another thing is to slow down. Reducing your speed will enhance your chances of avoiding and surviving a head-on collision. And always wear your seat belt.”
By Gary Richards, Mercury News
