Driver's ed courses warn students after Milwaukee County sees influx in wrong-way drivers

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- 81 wrong-way drivers have been reported on area highways in Milwaukee County just this year.

That's almost double the number from last year.

"It's scary. People don't understand the long-term effects. Lives change when you don't take these considerations head out on the road," said a woman whose brother is enrolled in a Driver's Education course.

The woman says she has seen the aftermath of bad accidents. "Being a registered nurse, I personally see every day the repercussions."

The RN is now dropping her younger brother off for driving school. "It is scary having a 16-year-old drive. But if we have a good driving school, a good job preparing."

At Arcade Driving School, they discuss the collisions that happened on the road.

"We show them articles from news clippings, things that have happened here to show it doesn't happen to someone else," said Scott Banks with Arcade Driving School.

During Friday's class, they brought up the wrong-way driver who died after crashing into a semi on Milwaukee's high rise bridge.

"A couple days ago, there was a wrong way driver again. A few years ago, there was a rash of them, it seemed like one a week," the class was told.

The driving school isn't exaggerating the problem. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office cited 90 people for unreasonable, imprudent driving in the last 6 weeks. 

"It's just very sad. Loss of life for no reason when people can just slow down," said parent Sonya Newson.

The man who died in the wrong-way crash still has not been officially identified. If you're wondering what to do if you encounter a wrong way driver, see the video below.

REACT TO WRONG WAY from CBS 58 News on Vimeo.