Brown Deer, Wis. – September 29, 2026 -- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has deployed 14 mobile Wrong-Way Detection Trailers built by TAPCO, part of a statewide push to identify wrong-way driving risk at unsignalized highway ramps before crashes occur. Texas and Arkansas transportation departments have also adopted the mobile trailers since the product launched earlier this year.
Fatal wrong-way crashes nearly doubled nationally over the past decade
Fatal wrong-way crashes on U.S. divided highways rose from 278 a year in 2014 to 520 in 2023, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Over that decade, 4,164 fatal wrong-way crashes killed 5,730 people, with wrong-way fatalities climbing faster than the overall fatal-crash rate.
Massachusetts law now mandates a data-driven wrong-way strategy
Governor Maura Healey signed legislation in July requiring MassDOT to build a statewide strategy covering infrastructure, technology, education and annual reporting on high-risk wrong-way locations, following a series of fatal incidents in the state. MassDOT is currently installing detection technology at a pace of roughly five locations per week and has logged more than 1,000 wrong-way citations over the past two years.
Solar-powered trailers deploy without trenching or engineering review
Each unit combines vehicle detection, video cameras and LED-enhanced wrong-way signage that activates in a driver's path when an entry is detected. The system sends real-time alerts with live video to traffic management centers, agency staff and law enforcement before a 911 call is placed. A single field technician can deploy a trailer in minutes, and units are relocatable as ramp conditions change.
MassDOT Assistant Administrator for Traffic and Safety Neil Boudreau said the trailers have shown that most wrong-way drivers self-correct, data his engineers are now using to shape ramp design and driver education.
Agencies use the trailers for four distinct deployment scenarios
TAPCO says agencies are applying the trailers for temporary coverage during construction detours, rapid response after a collision, backup when a fixed detection system fails, and risk mapping at ramps with no prior data. In each case, the trailers capture the volume of wrong-way entries, entry points and before-and-after conditions once a permanent fix is installed.
Trailers extend a five-phase MassDOT program dating to 2013
MassDOT's broader wrong-way strategy has included signage, pavement markings, lighting and geometric changes at more than 430 ramps statewide, plus a 2023 pilot of 16 fixed detection systems. The mobile trailers now fill gaps at unsignalized ramps lacking permanent infrastructure.
TAPCO's detection technology is installed on 3,000-plus ramps in 26 states
The trailer is the newest addition to a wrong-way portfolio TAPCO has developed over 17 years, spanning signage through full AI-based detection and notification systems aligned with National Cooperative Highway Research Program guidance. Texas A&M Transportation Institute research cited by TAPCO found its flagship AI Detection & Notification System has cut wrong-way crashes by as much as 38% in deployed communities.