Although exit ramps from highways can be wide and contain at least two lanes, they usually are only one lane wide with an emergency shoulder. They are designed to be long enough for motorists to gradually slow down from highway speeds safely to whatever is the posted speed limit at the end of the exit ramp — whether it is located in a city, a town, or perhaps a rural setting…
How Not to Exit Off of a Highway. Photographs Included.
…but what happened on an exit ramp off of Interstate 285 in the city of Sandy Springs — which is located north of the city of Atlanta — might cause heads to be scratched with question marks emanating from them in all different colors and patterns and falling into an ever-growing pile on the floor.
Interstate 285 is more popularly known in Atlanta as The Perimeter because it completely encircles the city. People who say that they live ITP mean that they live “inside the Perimeter”; while people who say that they live OTP mean that they…
…well…you get the idea.
When Sandy Springs was officially incorporated as a city back in 2005, it became the sixth largest city in the state of Georgia and also established its own police department — among other entities…
…and some members of that police force documented a strange incident which happened at Exit 26 of the eastbound lanes of the northern part of Interstate 285 when not one…
…not two…
…but three different vehicles attempted to exit from Interstate 285 to Glenridge Drive at the same time. The result of the incident was posted to the official Twitter account of the Sandy Springs Police Department.
@SandySprings_PD is investigating this crash on I-285 East at Glenridge Dr. where these 3 vehicles tried taking the exit are the same time. No injuries were reported pic.twitter.com/JXx1dbEu31
— Sandy Springs Police (@SandySprings_PD) August 26, 2021
Fortunately, no deaths or injuries were reported as a result of the incident, which is currently under investigation at the time this article was written…
…but each of the three vehicles experienced quite a bit of damage. The final resting spot for the front passenger side wheel of the Ford Mustang was on the temporary concrete barrier; while the GMC Savana van was sandwiched between the Mustang and a GMC Acadia. The only way the driver — and any passengers — of the GMC Savana van could have escaped was through the back doors of the van, as both doors on the sides of the driver and passenger were blocked by vehicles.
Final Boarding Call
I have personally used that exit numerous times; and it is very poorly designed because motorists who want to exit off of Interstate 285 are forced to cut in front of motorists who line up to exit Georgia State Highway 400 north and south, which is also a limited access highway.
Fortunately, the construction which is shown in the aforementioned photographs is part of a massive project undertaken by the Georgia Department of Transportation which is designed to correct that — as well as other anomalies — that have been dangerous to drivers and their passengers.
Imagine if one of those vehicles was rented from a rental car company — and that is indeed possible in this case…
…but I cannot imagine how this incident could have happened in the first place — or who will ultimately be at fault and responsible for causing the damages…
Source: Sandy Springs Police Department.
