I-Team finds violations at highway merge

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Merging onto a busy interstate is already a driver's nightmare, it's even worse when people ignore the signs that are designed to keep you safe.

The 22NEWS I-Team shows us one place drivers continuously ignore the rules of the road.

It's a stretch of highway many in Western Massachusetts take everyday.

We're talking about the 291, I-91 interchange in Springfield that used to be a common crash site, when drivers would cross multiple lanes to get downtown.  

According to some drivers, it's not getting any better.

"We've swerved several times," said Bonnie Paddleford, Springfield. "It's very dangerous, I've seen accidents quite a bit there."

In 2008, a 22News report was instrumental in getting the state to repaint the double-white lines here and add signage reminding drivers of the rules. Now, four years later, it's time to check in and see if it's working.

The 22News I-Team set up a camera to watch the traffic and in just two hours, we counted 160 violations, cars jumping the white line to get off exit seven, we saw a taxi cab take the plunge, a police officer and a number of close-calls.

We told Massachusetts State Trooper Gary Woods about our investigation and he agreed to give the location some additional attention.

"I for one have written people for getting off from 291," Trooper Woods said.

We picked a prime spot and sat in his cruiser watching.

While there weren't nearly as many violations as our hidden camera investigation, before long, we had one a violator.

The trooper pulled them over but not before they tried driving the wrong way down Columbus Avenue.

The traffic stop quickly revealed a glitch.

The out-of-area driver explained her GPS was telling her where to go.

"Her GPS was actually telling her, when she got off 291, to get off exit 7," Woods said.

Woods told the 22News I-Team this isn't the first time he's seen this and with GPS's growing in popularity, it's difficult to prevent.

He says while the number of accidents are down significantly in our interchange, he agrees there's still a problem they need to watch closely, but they need drivers to be more vigilant as well.

"Bottom line is, even if your GPS is telling you to do something, and you're seeing signs telling you it's prohibited, just keep going, your GPS will self-correct and it will still get you to your destination," Woods said.

The 22News I-Team is working for you.

We reached out to several GPS makers to make them aware of the problem, both Tom Tom and Garmen have said they weren't aware of the problem, until now, and because of our story, they'll be updating their system with the change.