highway safety office about us hero image - 2 women wearing seatbelts in a car

Our drive is to save lives

The CTDOT’s Highway Safety Office (HSO) has one mission – to keep our roadways safe. We work to prevent fatalities and injuries that result from crashes related to driver behavior.

Our teams implement unique highway safety programs and provide technical and policy leadership to organizations throughout the state with the same focus. Typically, HSO programs are funded or subsidized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Office (NHTSA).

Data and action
HSO programs are based on extensive data and analysis. Every year, we review crash, injury and fatality data to determine where, when and why crashes occur and who is most likely to be involved. What we learn results in unique campaigns to counteract dangerous driver behavior and training programs to improve how we collect data, enforce traffic laws and build safer roadways.

Working with others
HSO partners with hospitals, universities, police departments, city officials and community/advocacy groups like MADD and AARP. By teaming up, we can learn more about specific audiences and behavior while creating new avenues to get key safety messages out to the public.

Getting the word out
Working with area media companies, we lead public awareness campaigns to help curb impaired driving, distracted driving and other dangerous behaviors. You have probably seen or heard these messages on TV and radio, billboards and buses, online or at sports venues.

Public outreach
We have a large in-person presence throughout the state, meeting one-on-one with residents at public sites like sporting venues, concerts, racetracks, fairs, festivals and schools.
connecticut safer roads - highway safety office

Making CT roads safer is a big job

CT has…
21,362.59 miles of public roads (2021)
3,896.25 miles of state roads (2021)
346.34 miles of interstate roads (2021)

Every year, drivers cover 28,988,544,915 miles on CT roads! (2021)