Regina Police are still investigating a Tuesday evening collision on the ring road that killed a 21-year-old woman.
It was just after 6:00 pm that police say an eastbound car carrying four teenage girls lost control between Wascana Parkway and Assiniboine Avenue, crossed the centre median, and crashed into oncoming traffic. The victim was in a vehicle heading westbound. The four teens suffered non-life threatening injuries.
This isn’t the first time a vehicle has crossed the median of the major highway. Between 2006 and 2010 there were 69 collisions on the ring road where a vehicle crossed the centre ditch into oncoming traffic. In those collisions, 27 people were injured.
It is an issue on highways across North America, and many jurisdictions have begun to take action. In 1998, the North Carolina Department of Transportation began installing barriers between highway lanes, and have seen a dramatic drop in fatalities.
“Before the media barrier program started we had about 50 people a year who died in accidents where cars crossed the median,” said Greer Beaty, Communications Director with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. “Today, we see about less than ten.”
With such dramatic results, the state now includes barriers in the design process as they build new highways.
“Median barriers are just one last chance to offer safety, to save somebody’s life or reduce injury,” added Beaty.
Global News requested an interview with a City of Regina official to discuss the possibility of adding more barriers to the ring road; however the city declined to comment until the investigation into Tuesday’s fatal accident is complete.
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