The country's largest convention of highway safety engineers is underway in San Antonio, and a key goal is to deal with a problem which is endemic in San Antonio--wrong way driving.
News Radio 1200 WOAI reports that the winning project in the American Traffic Safety Services Association convention was focused on helping deal with that issue.
Brian Watson, the Director of New Programs for the ATSSA, says it is a type of painting on the roadway that only people who are driving the wrong way can see the message.
"Depending on the angle of view of the vehicle, a different warning will be displayed. So if you are coming the wrong way, it will show red, as well as the words 'WRONG WAY'," Watson said.
"The same people, coming on the correct way, won't see anything. You'll just see the standard road, ready to go. You'll only see it when you are going the wrong way."
Other key initiatives of the conference include new products to help drivers avoid impailing their cars on the start of guard rails, and ways to allow raised pavement markers, like lane dividers, on roads in parts of the country which frequently require snow plowing.
The ATSSA is also receiving updates on increased safety on the nation's highways, and now technology and innovation can be used to make the roads safer.
The group points out that driving has become significantly safer in the last twenty years due to a number of factors, including the efforts of traffic engineers and state departments of transportation to adopt innovative measures, like the ones on display at the San Antonio conference, to promote highway safety.