I saw a simulation of the accident on one of the news channels yesterday.
To put it mildly, this *exit ramp* is an accident waiting to happen.  And
all reports are that there have been many *accidents* at this particular
place.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Ohio baseball players who were on a bus that
plunged off an Atlanta overpass struggled Saturday to comprehend the tragedy
that killed four of their teammates, the bus driver and the driver's wife.

The Bluffton University players' friends and families arrived in Georgia
Saturday to pay their respects and check on the surviving players, all of
whom were hurt in Friday's crash.

Highway safety experts investigating the crash, which killed six and injured
29, will study whether the design of a left-side Interstate highway exit may
have been a factor in the accident, an official said Saturday.

The bus, which was being driven by a fresh driver during an overnight trip,
drove up a left-side exit on Interstate 75 just north of downtown and
crossed a multilane highway overpass before crashing though a guardrail and
plunging onto the highway below, said National Transportation Safety Board
Member Kitty Higgins.

"We know that there have been numerous accidents at Exit 252 for Northside
Drive," Higgins said, referring to the accident site, where a high-occupancy
vehicle (HOV) lane and an exit lane run side by side.

"We are also interested in the history of the HOV lane and exit ramp design
and will be looking at the signage, highway markings and other motorist
warning devices that were available before exiting at that particular spot."

There were no skid marks leading up to a stop sign at the end of the exit,
police said.

Witnesses said there was "no indication that there was a concerted effort to
stop the bus" before it reached the top of the exit ramp and entered the
multi-lane bridge over the highway, said Maj. Calvin Moss, commander of
special operations for Atlanta police.

The bus was not equipped with an electronic data recorder that might have
provided more information about the last seconds before the fatal crash,
Higgins said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/03/03/bus.crash/

82 other wrecks reported at ramp
Georgia officials don't plan immediate changes to exit; Bluffton players
start home
The NTSB said Saturday that the accident site has had numerous crashes and
can be difficult for drivers to navigate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
reported that an analysis of the state transportation database showed 82
other accidents on the ramp with two deaths. Spear said he could not confirm
that number.

"I don't believe that's an inordinately high number in a major metropolitan
area," Spear said. "Certainly there have not been any accidents with the
severity of what we witnessed."

There are two "Prepare to Stop" signs on the ramp, which exits off the left
lane, and the same words are painted on the ramp itself, he said.

"Our view of that ramp has been that it is in total compliance with industry
design standards," Spear said.

Fred Hanscom, director of independent consulting group Transportation
Research Corp., said the ramp could have larger signs, a stoplight at the
top or pavement grooves that make a noise to warn drivers to slow down.

"The fact that this ramp went almost parallel with the main line (of the
interstate) was a confusing factor," Hanscom said. "Drivers normally expect
ramps to go to the right and not the left."

There are tire marks at the scene, but it is unclear when the driver
realized his mistake and tried to correct it, said Kitty Higgins, who is
leading the NTSB's investigation.

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=250816

They showed a drive-through on the news today.  There were plenty of
signs and only someone not watching the road or dozing off would not
have been able to see all the signs.

he had been at the wheel less than an hour, so he should
have been
refreshed and alert.

Something nobody has mentioned yet is that vehicles of
that type
are prohibited inside the perimeter unless that's their
destination.  There
are several big yellow signs he passed on I-75 south that
told him he
needed to take I-285.  Either he saw them & ignored him,
or he
really wasn't paying that much attention to signs.

i'm with those who don't understand how anyone paying
attention
would have made that mistake... time of day there wouldn't
been heavy
traffic to contend with.