By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – From sensors on highways that would alert police to wrong-way drivers to ways to warn motorists of an approaching hazard, technology could help the state prevent highway tragedy and the state is now exploring them to save lives, Commissioner of Safety Robert Quinn said.

As of Monday, the state has seen 115 crashes that have killed 128 individuals, which is about the average for the same time last year when there were 116 crashes.

But what is alarming in the statistics compiled by the Department of Safety is that 10 fatalities so far this year involved drivers under the age of 21, which is a 233 percent increase over last year, according to spokesman Tyler Dumont.

For perspective, in 2022, there was only a single under 21 driver death and in 2023, there were three, he said, adding the Department of Safety is closely monitoring crashes involving drivers who are under 21.

“While causation data can sometimes take months to finalize dependent on toxicology results or other investigation factors, members of our Office of Highway Safety and the Division of State Police are reviewing all of these crashes. Additionally, the Department is working with other state agencies to enhance the collection of real-time data, so we can adjust education and enforcement efforts accordingly,” Dumont said.

Driver deaths for people 71 and older were down this year to 13 from 17 during the same period last year.

Commissioner Quinn spoke with InDepthNH.org recently indicating that wrong-way driver accidents are up this year in the Granite State. 

The state has a goal of having zero fatalities in the years to come and although that may seem a tall order, there may be technological advances in the coming years to help attain that.

What has also been getting a lot of attention in the state this year has been incidents involving wrong-way drivers including one recently that killed an Exeter resident who was a police officer at Endicott College in Massachusetts who was on his way home from work on Interstate 95 in Massachusetts.

Federal officials say wrong-way drivers result in 400 to 500 deaths nationwide each year.

In New Hampshire, Quinn said many wrong-way drivers are impaired drivers but there are also elderly drivers who become confused and wind up driving on the wrong side of the road.

As of last week, the state has reported 248 wrong-way drivers this year and 17 incidents, though many wrong-way drivers likely go unreported. 

The latest fatality, an accident Sunday that took the life of a Massachusetts woman, occurred when the vehicle she was a passenger in with her husband at the wheel somehow lost control and crossed the median, colliding with other vehicles in Merrimack.

Quinn said there is technology out there being tested and perhaps being developed which might help and the state is interested in looking at the data.

Massachusetts is among several states testing new technology to try to prevent wrong-way crashes by deploying sensors.

Quinn said a number of states are deploying that technology and said there may be ways to help notify drivers of an oncoming wrong-way driver.

“In other words, how do you alert somebody…once we know someone gets on the road at Exit 2 on 89, how do you notify everybody driving down from Warner or Sutton?” He said there are ways to alert the public, “so…we’re talking about it,”

Last year, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation installed wrong-way vehicle detection systems at more than a dozen locations across the state.

Asked if anything in the statistics stand out to the department this year, spokesman Tyler Dumont wrote in an email that, “While causation data can sometimes take months to finalize dependent on toxicology results or other investigation factors, members of our Office of Highway Safety and the Division of State Police are reviewing all of these crashes. Additionally, the Department is working with other state agencies to enhance the collection of real-time data, so we can adjust education and enforcement efforts accordingly.”

New Hampshire’s most recent fatal occurred at about 1 p.m. Sunday on the F.E. Everett Turnpike near Exit 12 in Merrimack. When Troopers arrived, they found multiple vehicles with serious damage and several people hurt.

Based on the preliminary investigation of the crash, including witness statements, officials believe the driver of a white Dodge Ram pickup was traveling south when, for reasons that remain under investigation, the vehicle suddenly crossed the median before entering the north lanes of the turnpike and crashed into two other vehicles, including a brown GMC Sierra pickup and a white Nissan Versa sedan.

A passenger in the Dodge Ram, identified as Wanda Navarro, 63, of Brimfield, Mass., was transported to Elliot Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. The driver of the Dodge, identified as James Navarro, 69, also of Brimfield, Mass., was taken by ambulance to be evaluated for minor injuries. 

Additionally, a passenger in the GMC Sierra was taken to the hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries. During the investigation of the crash and cleanup all but one lane south were closed for about three hours. All aspects of the crash remain under investigation and no charges have been filed at this time.