Devices addressing wrong-way drivers
DOT making progress in installing detectors to prevent incidents
The Connecticut Department of Transportation so far has installed 19 of 120 wrong-way driver detection systems that were mandated by a state law passed in 2023, according to DOT spokesman Josh Morgan.
There are also “a few dozen that are in various states of install,” Morgan said.
On the morning of Jan. 14, a Tucson, Arizona, woman was killed when her SUV, which was going the wrong way on southbound Interstate 95 between Exits 53 and 52 in Branford, hit a tractor-trailer.
While it is unknown where the woman entered the highway, the Branford Connector at Exit 53 is one of those where the on and off ramps are next to each other. A death on the connector decades ago caused barriers to be placed between the ramps.
Morgan said there is no wrongway detection system yet at that exit. State Police Sgt. Christine Jeltema said the crash is still under investigation.
The detection system has had at least one success. On Dec. 18, a camera recorded a driver turning around on Interstate 691’s Exit 2A, Morgan said. After seeing the flashing lights, “the driver stopped, turned around, and entered the highway in the proper direction,” according to the DOT.
“It was like 3 in the morning, pouring rain, such low visibility,” he said. “So it looks like maybe that was just an accident, a mistake that someone made, a little bit confused in that weather. So it’s a good success story and why we want to keep building these out.”
He said while the state law identified 120 exits for installation of the detection system,
“what we have is a list of 236 ramps which we’ve identified as high risk.”
The risk factors include “the on ramp and off ramp being next to each other” and “is it within a mile or half a mile of places that are serving alcohol: bars, restaurants, hotels, things that may lead to a driver making a bad decision to get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t,” Morgan said.
There were five crashes and seven deaths in 2023 caused by wrong-way drivers. The fatalities included that of state Rep. Quentin Williams, D-middletown, who was leaving Gov. Ned Lamont’s inaugural ball.
There were 13 crashes and 23 fatalities in 2022, Morgan said.
“A lot of the historical crash data that we have is virtually every single wrong-way driver is found to be impaired by alcohol,” he said.
The way the system works is a camera projects an invisible grid to the off ramp, which senses if a vehicle is entering from the wrong direction, Morgan said. That will activate flashing red lights and the lettering on the “wrong way” sign.
“And then if the person does not stop and they continue on the highway, they hit that second zone and that’s what’s going to notify our Highway Operations Center and Connecticut state police,” he said.
“The hope is, maybe they hit that first one, the lights come on, they can stop and course correct and not go onto the highway but if they keep going on, that’s when we want police to be notified … so we can pull up the nearest traffic camera try to see what’s going on and state police can respond and hopefully intercept the vehicle,” he said.