About 12:45 a.m. on February 23, 1980, a two-door sedan westbound on U.S. Route 64, near Perry, Oklahoma, collided head-on with an eastbound pickup truck. The two-door sedan rebounded into the westbound lane, and the pickup truck was struck by a following eastbound four-door sedan. The two-door sedan burned, and its driver and all five occupants of the pickup truck were fatally injured. The two occupants of the four-door sedan escaped with minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was that the driver, whose judgment and driving ability were impaired by alcohol, operated the westbound two-door sedan in the eastbound lane while negotiating a hill crest at an excessive rate of speed. RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board made the following recommendations: to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Evaluate the effectiveness of current Dram Shop type laws in reducing the number of highway accidents involving drivers under the influence of alcohol in States having such laws. If the above evaluations prove to be positive, then incorporate the concepts of these laws into the existing Highway Safety Program Standard No. 8, Alcohol in Relation to Highway Safety. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-80-47) to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation: Study the series of curves on a 3.7-mile section of U.S. Route 64 including the accident site and reduce the posted speed limit to a speed that is compatible with the highway design speeds. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-80-48) Seek the funds necessary to enable a renewed emphasis on alcohol safety especially in the rural areas and the less populated communities of the State. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-80-49) to the Federal Highway Administration: Evaluate the effectiveness of the "Limited Sight Distance" sign (W14-4-MUTCD) and report its findings to the Board. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-80-50) If the Limited Sight Distance (W14-4-MUTCD) sign is found to be ineffective, then devise an effective method of warning motorists of the incompatibility of operating speeds, current vehicle design eye-height, and limited sight distance situations that exist on roads designed to pre-1965 standards. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-80-51).
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