The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and Connecticut State Police unveiled last week a new initiative designed to address the rise in speeding and reckless driving amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Electronic highway signs will be used to encourage drivers to slow down during the pandemic, adding the circumstance has significantly reduced highway traffic volumes while also increasing extreme and dangerously high speeds.
New highway messages have been posted reading ‘Help Our Heroes – Please Don’t Speed,’ with the agencies also offering a pair of new public service announcements for the campaign.
“With the coronavirus pandemic impacting every aspect of our lives, now is not the time for dangerous, reckless driver behavior that endangers the public, our maintenance and construction crews, and the critical workers we are all relying on to provide medical care and essential services necessary for the state to recover,” CTDOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti said.
Statewide data indicated last month, the percentage of drivers traveling faster than 80 mph doubled at many locations and, in some cases, increased as much as eight-fold when compared to the preceding months of 2020.
“Every driver on the road can help prevent more senseless death, injuries, and strain on our first responders and the healthcare professionals that are working tirelessly to combat this virus,” Giulietti said. “We are appealing to the public on a personal level – now more than ever – please recognize the impact of speeding and extreme speeding on every family and every person in this state. Please don’t speed, and together, we’ll get through this.”