Technology upgraded on Connecticut highway signs to help prevent wrong-way crashes
CONNECTICUT (WABC) -- This time of the year can be dangerous on the roads.
Accidents are bound to happen with people visiting from out of town who don't always know the lay of the land.
In Connecticut, there's a safety system in place to prevent drivers from making a deadly mistake.
The red wrong-way signs on highway entrance ramps have gotten a technology upgrade with flashing lights that alert the driver, allowing them to turn around before getting on the wrong way.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation calls it a self-correction.
"The technology works, this technology saves lives and it's why we're committed to putting this on as many ramps as we possibly can here in Connecticut," said Josh Morgan, with the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
The state has been on a mission to reduce the number of wrong-way collisions, which are usually head-on and often result in fatalities.
Drivers admit it's a concern.
"We see all the signs on 95, 299 crashes, some of them have been terrible. How can you not?" Stamford resident Joyce Fubini said.
"Both ongoing and oncoming are on the same ramp. There's one, it makes me nervous," resident Mary Thies said.
This year 13 people have been killed in wrong-way crashes, which is down from 23 deaths in 2022.
That's when the State Legislature allocated $40 million to upgrade its warning system.
Sensors trigger flashing lights which notify an operations center and mounted cameras record the activity.
Because nearly every wrong-way accident involved an impaired driver, specific locations have been targeted.
"We charted out a map, if the ramp is within a certain distance of a bar, restaurant, hotel, someplace that's going to be service alcohol, that was a sign of pretty high score," Morgan said.
Connecticut officials are warning motorists since Thanksgiving weekend is busy and deadly.
"These are probably the most dangerous four days of the year on our Connecticut highways and usually 10-20 serious injuries, fatalities many of them alcohol-related," Governor Ned Lamont said.
135 of these sensors have been installed throughout the state this year. 100 more are planned for next year.
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