By Joseph Morales

    Connecticut’s highways are among the busiest in the Northeast. Data from fleet management company, Coast, shows that five of the ten northeast cities with the busiest highways are located in the Constitution State. This makes sense as the state’s highway arteries such as Interstate 95 and 91 are the primary means most have to get between cities or travel significant distances. These also serve as critical travel nodes for anyone trying to traverse the Northeast as CT is directly in between New York and Boston. 

           Unfortunately, Connecticut’s roads have been prime for speeding drivers over the past year. According to statistics obtained by the CT Mirror in October, Connecticut State Troopers made 68,196 stops of non-commercial vehicles compared to 26,030 in all of 2023. The data showed that slightly more than half of those were for speeding or reckless driving. For context, speeds of more than 85 mph are considered reckless driving per CT State Law. CT State Police also faced the issue of many drivers taking off from them. Data from WTNH News 8 shows 914 drivers either took off or failed to stop when confronted. Many of the traffic stops are the result of several initiatives such as “Slow Down, Save Lives”  that provide grants to local and state police to increase speed enforcement. CT State Police also started a fatal mitigation initiative which combined internal data with data from the CTDOT and UConn to identify hotspots for placing added speed patrols. 

            Traffic fatalities have also surged significantly this year. The same data shows that the state is on-pace to end 2024 with about 327 deaths which is just shy of a 40-year high set in 2022. Speeding is the cause for roughly a third of Connecticut’s traffic fatalities according to data obtained by WTNH News 8 from the CTDOT. 

             With all of Connecticut’s anti-speeding initiatives this year, it is likely that CT motorists and politicians want to see more significant change. This is why State Rep Irene Haines who represents parts of Middlesex and New London Counties proposed a bill that would impose harsher penalties for speeders. The “Super Speeder” bill carries penalties that vary by speed range and include escalating fines, points, license suspensions and even jail time. Drivers going 86 to 99 mph would face a fine of $500 and two points. Drivers going north of 100 mph would receive double the fines and points plus a 30-day license suspension. Frequent speeders would have their license immediately suspended and face jail time and/or a court date. Haines wrote in a post on the CT House GOP site, “We need to take action to help our motorists reach their destinations safely and help local law enforcement cut down on potentially dangerous situations.”

            The passing of this bill would lead to Connecticut having some of the toughest speeding penalties in the country. A study from esteemed New York law firm Davidoff Law obtained by the site Adventure Rider showed that only four of the ten states with America’s toughest traffic laws imposed speeding fines up to or past $1,000. One of these states is nearby Vermont, which is connected to Connecticut via I-91, one of CT’s major interstates. Hence, stricter laws in CT may help to increase consistency and keep motorists safe from New Haven up to the Canadian Border in Derby, VT. Overall, the bill could make motorists statewide think twice about speeding given the severity of the penalties. A study sponsored by the University of Chicago showed that increases in the amount of ticketed led to reductions in accidents and injuries. Thus, harsher penalties should help those tickets to hold more meaning for motorists. 

          The license points will especially sting given how Connecticut is the most expensive state in the country for car insurance. Data from Axios shows that rates in CT are $108 higher than the next most expensive state. Neighboring states New York and Rhode Island also rank in the top 10 for most expensive rates. This should make drivers even more wary not just of having to spend more money, but being uncertain as to just how much a speeding incident can cost them in the long run. License suspensions will also be painful given just how car dependent Connecticut is. According to the CT Mirror, only 3.3% of CT residents used mass transit to get to work daily. Even those who do take transit must often drive to get to Park-And Rides at Metro-North, CTRail and CT Transit Express Bus Stops. As a result, not being able to drive can result in one’s mobility being completely hampered in Connecticut. 

           The “Super Speeder” law clearly has the potential to bring Connecticut’s efforts full circle to slow down motorists on its highways. However, it will be a significant challenge for it to pass and become law. In 2024, another bill concerning motorist behavior was tabled or effectively killed in the legislature. The bull was aimed at prohibiting ability impaired driving by lowering the state’s legal alcohol limit for motorists. Opposition to the bill was in large part due to a lack of consistency with other state’s laws. Given how speeding laws are always variable between states, that issue should not impede the passage of the “Super Speeder” law. 

              Nonetheless, Haines and other politicians who support the bill will need to do their due diligence to ensure it gets through the legislative process. In Texas, only a fraction of the bills that are proposed every legislative session become law. This is important as most state legislatures work almost the exact same way in the United States. Bills are sometimes killed if a rule is somehow violated during its journey or the legislature simply runs out of time during the session to pass it. The legislative session in Connecticut is 21 weeks and runs from January 8th, 2025 to June 4th, 2025. Therefore, Haines and other bill supporters will likely need to fight hard to ensure the bill is prioritized and voted on.

               For most of the past year, Connecticut has tried numerous tactics to attempt to slow down drivers on its roads. It is clear that the state has a significant desire to remedy the issue given the dangers speeding drivers pose. If passed, the “Super Speeder” bill could play a critical role in reducing speeds given the gravity of the consequences drivers would face. Only time will tell if the bill will pass and result in Connecticut being a leader in anti-speeding laws.

Works Cited

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