State police urge drivers to slow down as crashes rise
Speeding on the Connecticut's roads and highways is still up from pre-COVID-19 levels, state officials said, warning motorists of the dangers of traveling too fast.
Josh Morgan, a spokesperson with the state Department of Transportation, said safety in transportation is a collective responsibility of the community.
“What we are now seeing on the roadways with vehicle speeds, impaired driving and pedestrian crashes is alarming. 2022 is on pace to be the deadliest year on Connecticut roads in decades,” said Morgan. “Speeds are definitely still up on CT roadways, and we continue to urge motorists to slow down, put their phones away and stay alert.”
In the first five months of the 2022, about 30 percent to 40 percent of drivers traveling through Branford on Interstate 95 between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. exceeded 70 mph, according to the DOT's traffic monitoring unit.
Speeds were fastest in the area in January, when 42.84 percent of drivers hit 70 mph or above, and slowest in May, when the percentage fell to 29.84, DOT reported.
Over the same period in 2018, the percentage of drivers hitting 70 mph ranged from 18.7 percent in May to 33.31 percent in March, DOT said.
State police troopers have observed a jump in speeding since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Trooper First Class Pedro A. Muñiz said in an email.
“We continue to enforce motor vehicle laws on our roadways and try to educate the public in the dangers of speeding. We encourage motorists to slow down, try to leave a few minutes early to help get to their destination without being in a rush,” said Muñiz. “And to remember it is more important to get there safely than risk your life and the lives of others on our roadways.”
Across state highways — I-95 in Branford, East Lyme and Norwalk or Route 15 in Hamden and Trumbull — speeding generally remains slightly elevated from 2018 levels, according to the DOT.
In the first five months of 2018, the percentage of motorists exceeding 70 mph in East Lyme peaked at 25.86 percent in March. Since then, the percentage has never fallen below 32.72 percent, which occurred in May 2022.
On I-95 in Norwalk, the percentage of drivers hitting 71 mph ranged between 14.94 percent and 19.92 percent so far in 2022; in 2018, it ranged between 9.43 percent and 11.89 percent. It peaked in April 2020, according to the state, when 32.67 percent of drivers hit such speeds, and May, when that figure hit 30.32 percent.
Between January and June 2022 on Route 15 in Hamden, the percentage of vehicles exceeding 70 mph ranged between 21.6 percent and 24.81 percent.; in the same period of 2018, it ranged between 16.91 percent and 24.97 percent.
The peak for those months in the intervening years occurred in April 2020, when 43.97 percent of drivers reached such speeds.
The speed limit on the stretches of highway in East Lyme, Norwalk, Hamden and Trumbull is 55 mph, according to the DOT. No data was available for drivers traveling between 55 and 70 mph.
The number of crashes that involve speeding has generally declined in recent years, according to the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center, which is located at the University of Connecticut and funded by a DOT grant.
In 2018, there were 9,855 crashes involving speeding across the state, compared to 9,212 crashed in 2019; 6,892 crashes in 2020; and 8,258 crashes in 2021. There have been 4,539 crashes so far in 2022, DOT said.
The number of fatal crashes, both speed-related and not, has increased in recent years, according to the DOT.
As they announced the Slow Down New England regional speeding crackdown in July, state officials said that in 2021, of 307 total fatalities, 32 percent were speeding-related. In 2020, of 295 fatalities, 32 percent were speedingrelated, up 50 percent from 2019.
“We are thankful for our regional partners for supporting our shared mission to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding to keep all New England residents safe,” DOT Deputy Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said at the time. “In Connecticut, 2022 is on track to be the deadliest year on our roads in decades. People are driving way too recklessly.”
Based on police reports, as of Aug. 22, a total of 237 fatalities have been reported on Connecticut roads this year, Morgan said.
“Speeding and aggressive driving are deliberate, selfish choices,” Eucalitto said. “Driving is an enormous responsibility that drivers must take seriously to keep themselves and other roadway users safe.”