Connecticut’s Department of Transportation has launched a new initiative to raise public awareness about road safety by displaying the number of fatalities on signs across the state’s highways.
“We decided to start posting the number of fatalities on the signs because we wanted to put that number directly in front of the drivers,” said Josh Morgan, a DOT spokesperson. “We see these numbers every week, and they keep increasing. Our goal is to make the public aware of the ongoing crisis.”
The signs, which were traditionally used for road incident updates and safety campaigns with messages such as ‘Crash Ahead’ or ‘Drive Sober, Get Pulled Over,’ now display the most recent fatality figures, updated weekly. According to the DOT, as of Aug. 31, there were 224 fatal crashes reported. The campaign began in early July.
“Every week we see five more people were killed, eight more people were killed,” Morgan said. “We want the public to see that on their commute to work or school or to visit friends or family.”
The numbers displayed on the highway signs are preliminary and may change as investigations progress and more information becomes available.
“Sometimes, what initially appears as a vehicle-related fatality might be reclassified later,” Morgan added. “It could turn out to be due to a medical incident, drug overdose, or other causes not directly related to the crash.”
According to the University of Connecticut’s Crash Data Repository, Connecticut is facing a concerning rise in fatal car crashes, with a particularly alarming trend involving young male drivers. Of the 148 deaths in 137 fatal crashes reported this year, drivers accounted for 65.5% of the fatalities, passengers for 14.9%, and pedestrians for 19.6%. The most affected age range is between 20 and 25 years old, with 20 fatal injuries recorded within this group.
Substance use is a major factor in these fatalities, with 14 crashes involving drivers under the influence of medications, drugs, or alcohol. Additionally, 106 of the crashes involved male drivers.
In the UCONN repository, the data, based on crash reports, can be delayed due to lengthy investigations, often leading to discrepancies with other sources like the DOT data, which show more recent figures. UCONN’s repository includes only fully completed cases.
“So many drivers are acting selfishly and irresponsibly, causing people to lose their lives on Connecticut roads,” Morgan said. “We want to keep this number up there so people who are out there on the roads can see it and take notice of what’s happening in Connecticut.”
In the data kept by UConn, New Haven leads the state in the number of fatal crashes this year with eight, followed by Hartford with six. Waterbury recorded five fatal crashes, while Windsor and Bridgeport each saw four.
The majority of crashes happened during daylight hours, accounting for 50.4% of the total incidents. In contrast, crashes occurring at night accounted for 44.4% of the total. Additionally, 2.9% of crashes had unknown lighting conditions, and 2.2% occurred during dawn.
A list of where all the CT road signs are located can be found here.