Experts say wrong-way driving is becoming a serious problem on the roads in Central Florida.

Earlier this month, a woman was killed when a wrong-way driver hit her vehicle on Interstate 4.

“In reality, I thought I was in a movie, something was not right,” said Jose Velazquez, who had to dodge a wrong-way driver last month off Colonial Drive.

Velazquez, an Uber driver, said he was dropping off a customer when a white truck came straight at him.

He says he was able to swerve onto the median just in time.

“I was thinking, 'Thank God that I’m safe,'” he said.

Two other vehicles were hit, and two people waiting at a bus stop were injured in that incident, officials say.

A Florida Highway Patrol investigator says the 78-year-old wrong-way driver was recommended for a medical evaluation after the incident.

FHP Lt. Tara Crescenzi pulled state data and said that from the beginning of this year until Nov. 1 in Central Florida, there have been 353 wrong-way crashes. In those crashes, 19 people were killed, and 437 others were injured, she said.

“The stats show that not only in Central Florida, but statewide, wrong-way crashes are occurring very often,” Crescenzi said.

Statewide, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1 of this year, 109 people were killed and 1,520 were injured in wrong-way crashes.

Crescenzi says she lost a friend, a fellow law enforcement officer, to a wrong-way driver six years ago.

“Absolutely horrible, and his friends and family, including myself, we were all devastated,” she said.

Crescenzi said the most common wrong-way crashes occur when the driver is impaired, but they also happen when someone is distracted, drowsy, confused, new to driving and, in a few cases, suicidal.

She said wrong-way detection systems on major expressways and interstates can help.

“This signage has lights equipped to it as well, so if it gets triggered that a vehicle went up the ramp the wrong way, these lights will shine very bright and the wrong-way signage will illuminate so the motorist can see they went up the ramp the wrong way,” Crescenzi said.

If the system detects a wrong-way driver, she said it can also alert law enforcement.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority found that from February 2015 to September 2022, its wrong-way detection system recorded 1,329 wrong-way driving incidents.

As of May of 2022, the Expressway Authority has installed detection systems at 55 ramp locations. An additional 15 wrong-way driving system ramp locations are under design or construction, and 30 other ramp locations are expected to be added in the future.

The Florida Department of Transportation has completed testing of its wrong-way vehicle detection system at the I-4 Express and South Street location.

Officials say they’re awaiting the installation of one additional sign to complete the ramp. Additional detection systems are planned for the I-4 Express direct connect ramps at Grand National Drive, Ivanhoe Boulevard and Central Parkway. FDOT officials say they hope to have those in place by the spring.