CTDOT Press Releases
07/01/2022
Speeding Wrecks Lives: Anti-Speeding Enforcement Effort to Launch July 1
With the arrival of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, many Connecticut residents will be traveling throughout the state to gatherings, barbeques, and tourist destinations. The Connecticut Department of Transportation Office of Highway Safety is launching a high-visibility anti-speeding enforcement effort in partnership with State and local law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The campaign aims to raise awareness and change driver behavior and will increase efforts to enforce speed limits from July 1 to September 5, 2022.
As of June 19, 2022, there have been 166 traffic-related deaths in Connecticut, up from 123 in 2021 and 126 in 2020, during the same January 1 through June 19 period.
“When speeding is involved in a fatal crash, it is never an accident,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti. “Our goal is to change this deliberate behavior and send a message to drivers that they could avoid speeding-related deaths in Connecticut if all drivers obeyed the posted speed limits.”
In general, deaths from vehicle crashes have been falling since the late 1960s. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there was a national surge in crashes – and fatalities. According to NHTSA, an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2021, a 10.5 percent increase from the 38,824 deaths in 2020. That’s the largest number of projected fatalities in that period since 2005.
“Sadly, lives are behind each of these numbers – lives tragically lost,” added Giulietti. “Speed limits are put in place to protect all road users. Speeding endangers not only the life of the speeder but everybody on the road around them, including law enforcement officers. We are asking all Connecticut drivers to be more vigilant than ever.”
According to NHTSA, local roads are more dangerous than highways for speeders: In 2020, 87% of all speeding-related traffic fatalities on American roads occurred on non-interstate roadways.
Connecticut will join the other five New England states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont on July 26, 2022, with a joint press conference to promote a Slow Down New England initiative. More details to follow.
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