WAUPACA COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office is offering tips about how to stay safe while driving on divided highways after arresting a driver for going the wrong direction on a divided highway.
In a post to Facebook, the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office says just before 3 a.m. on June 15, a police officer with Weyauwega Police noticed a car traveling westbound in the eastbound fast lane of Highway 10 near County Highway F.
“[The] officer was traveling in the correct direction of travel with emergency lights and siren activated while attempting to get the wrong-way driver to stop. The wrong way driver continued to travel in the wrong direction,” the post says.
The sheriff’s office says a county deputy then deployed stop stick tire deflation devices in order to stop the wrong-way driver.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of OWI and cited for OWI as well as driving the wrong way on a divided highway.
The post then warns community members about safety.
Steps to keep yourself safe while driving on a divided highway include:
Stay in the right lane whenever possible
Be alert for oncoming wrong-way drivers and wrong-way drivers entering the highway from crossroads
Wrong-way drivers often perceive they are traveling on a two-lane highway and will most often be in the lane they perceive to be their right lane. This will be your left lane.
Be prepared to merge to the right shoulder to move your vehicle as far right as safely possible if you observe a wrong-way driver approaching
Call 911 to report the wrong-way driver. Be specific about your direction of travel and the direction of travel of the wrong-way driver. The dispatcher will be able to determine your location using the 911 GPS coordinates.
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