A new campaign from the Connecticut Department of Transportation will focus on rural roadway safety to make sure speeding and safety-focused crackdowns are meeting every community the same to preserve motorist safety.
Through May 30, drivers in rural parts of the state will likely see more police patrols on roadways, more use of speed-detection technology and a statewide media campaign to raise awareness, all funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
This is the second year that Connecticut is utilizing this approach; in 2024, the campaign led to more than 7,500 traffic stops and more than 4,000 speeding tickets issued to drivers. The DOT provided funds to help local and state police departments acquire speed detection technology like radars and speed indicator signs.
“Thanks to the 2024 initiative, our officers made 887 traffic stops and issued over 110 citations for speeding, reckless, and impaired driving,” said Montville Chief of Police Wilfred Blanchette III in a statement. “These roads are crucial to our community, connecting residents, businesses, and schools, but they can quickly become dangerous when drivers exceed the speed limit.”
“Rural roads are not just scenic—they can be deadly when drivers speed or drive recklessly,” said Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Laoise King in a statement. “The success of our first campaign demonstrated that targeted enforcement and public awareness can make a real impact in reducing crashes and saving lives.”
According to state data, in the five-year span between 2019 and 2023, Connecticut averaged 44 rural road fatalities, which represented about 14% of all roadway deaths in the state, with 25% related to high speeds.
That’s in addition to older reports, such as one in 2015 that found Connecticut’s back roads are six times more dangerous than all other roads. That report also found Connecticut has the highest death rate on rural roads when compared to miles traveled back in 2013.
The report indicated high speeds exacerbate a secondary problem – many rural roads have relatively poor quality pavement, which can make already dangerous driving scary.
The federal Department of Transportation found that while only 20% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, from 2017 to 2021, 43% of roadway deaths occurred in such places. The report found that seat belt use is less prevalent in rural areas and rural drivers killed in crashes were 3% less likely to have been wearing seat belts. Roadway-departure, speed- and alcohol-impairment were the three most common causes of rural crashes per the report.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s advice for reducing rural road deaths emphasized driving slower, not driving drunk and taking protective measures.
