ADOT’s pilot wrong-way vehicle alert system has been recognized with a Government Innovation Award from GCN, an information technology industry magazine. The first-in-the-nation system, being tested on 15 miles of I-17, uses thermal cameras to detect and track wrong-way vehicles while also immediately alerting ADOT and DPS as well as warning other drivers via messages on electronic freeway signs. The pilot project is allowing ADOT to evaluate how technology can be used to reduce the risks associated with wrong-way drivers before expanding it to other freeways. To date, thermal cameras have recorded more than 30 detections of wrong-way vehicles. Most of the drivers in those incidents have turned around on an off-ramp without entering the mainline lanes of I-17.
