HOV Pylon Dividers: A Faster Lane Or A Route To Trouble?
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Questions are being raised over the use of pylon dividers in the HOV lanes along highways like U.S. Highway 75 after a driver captured a wreck on camera Tuesday. That video appears to show a white SUV plow through an opening of already mowed-down pylons and smash into a black car.
"I'm happy to be okay, and my wife and everything is kind of taken care of," said Robert Islas, driver of the black car shown in the video. Islas was traveling northbound along U.S. Highway 75 with his wife, Marisol, when the wreck happened, just before Renner Road.
If watched closely, Islas said, it appears as though the driver of the SUV was more focused on finding a spot of knocked-down pylons than he was on the other cars surrounding him on the road. "If you use the HOV lane, you got to commit," added Islas. "That's part of driving -- responsibility."
But countless pylons have been knocked down along the highway. Some question why the dividers are there in the first place.
"These are for the longer trips, you can't be getting in and out," said Tony Hartzel, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation. Hartzel added that the pylons are used for travel efficiency, and meant to only be crossed at low speeds during emergencies.
While the department would like to have more openings, Hartzel said, there is just not enough room to safely allow drivers to merge in and out. "It just costs us more money to go out there and fix them, and it is a constant challenge for us," said Hartzel.
Crossing a pylon can also be a crime. If a driver is caught illegally plowing over one of the dividers, TxDOT said that they can be charged with up to a $200 fine.
Islas hopes that drivers watch the footage of the wreck and think about it the next time that they get the urge to exit early. "It's an accident. I have to take it for what it is," said Islas. "Yeah, we're a little shook up, but we lived to see another day."
The driver of the SUV did not want to comment, but said that he would like to see more openings. He also said that he is done driving in the restricted HOV lanes. TxDOT said that it will look closely at the video to see if any changes can be made in order to make traveling safer.
