The state is rolling out a new campaign on our roadways to crack down on speeding called “Slow Down, Save Lives.” It is a partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The campaign centers around police visibility and enforcement.
“The only time you slow down is when you see them, then there is nothing they can do, you’re doing the speed limit, soon as you go by give it a little more gas. That’s how its always been,” said Paul Warmsley, of Middletown.
He was skeptical about the effectiveness of increased enforcement in changing the habits of drivers. But others were all for it.
“They need to have more state troopers out, people ain't trying to lose their family because someone is trying to rush somewhere, said Bobbie Edmonds.
He said speeding is way too common along the state’s highways and local roads.
“It's bad every day you got a drunk driver, someone in an accident, someone’s baby in hospital fighting for their life, because someone is speeding,” he said.
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The campaign kicked off July 1 will run until September 5. It program provides grants to local and state police so they can fund increased roadway speed enforcement and increase visibility of officers on the roads.
“They know where people are speeding, and getting into crashes and they will be stepping up enforcement in those specific targeted areas,” said Samaia Hernandez with the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
According to the DOT, in 2022, the last year of verifiable data, 115 deaths on Connecticut roads were speeding related. That’s roughly one every three days.
“They will be pulling people over if they are driving over the speed limit or driving dangerously and recklessly,” said Hernandez.
The department notes roughly a third of fatalities on the road happen during the summer, so the campaign's timeline falls in line with the increase in fatalities typically seen.
“What you do when you get behind the wheel can impact someone else's life and we want people to get home safely,” Hernandez said.
Despite his initial skepticism, Warmsley determined if people just slow down when they see a cruiser, even if the trooper or police officer can’t pull them over, at least the drivers are slowing down.
“If they are out there, you will slow down, they could park a car with no one in it and if you go by they will slow down,” he said.
The DOT also noted a major concern for the year. So far we are at 172 fatalities as of July 10th, a number that keeps the state on track with 2022, which is considered one of the deadliest on the roads in decades.
State Police Colonel Daniel Loughman released a statement on efforts to curb speeding:
“These fatality numbers – 115 killed in traffic collisions due to speed – tell the story: drivers are still traveling too fast on Connecticut roads, the State Police works constantly to educate operators on the necessity of following all posted speed limits. Too often, we have seen firsthand the tragic results of speeding on our roadways. Crashes due to speeding are preventable, so we again ask all who get behind the wheel to be our partners in public safety by driving the speed limit.”
