Most-Feared Road Trips In The U.S.: Where Does Connecticut Rank?

CONNECTICUT — What do you do when you find yourself on a dark desert highway and the cool wind is decidedly not in your hair?

That was the question — more or less —put to 3,000 respondents in a June 2023 survey by QuestionPro, commissioned by Gunther Mitsubishi.

The pollsters wanted to know which routes travelers fear breaking down on most. The top results from each state were compared, with each state ranked by its most dreaded road's fear factor. Connecticut's Route 8 came in a relatively not-so-nightmarish No. 46.

Top of the list is Route 285 in New Mexico, which "stretches across long distances between towns and gas stations, increasing the risk of running out of fuel or encountering mechanical issues without immediate assistance," according to analysts.

California's iconic Death Valley Road (SR-190) came in 2nd place overall. The extreme heat of the roadway frequently soars to dangerous levels, according to the pollsters, posing a "significant risk to the well-being of people stranded without proper shelter or hydration."

As for Connecticut's own Route 8, the state Department of Transportation did a study which offers some insight into the collective asphalt angst. Many locations along the roadway "appear to exceed CTDOT standards of a maximum algebraic difference of 7% between the cross slope of the travel lane and the cross slope of the shoulder," according to the report. The discrepancy increases the potential for rollover if vehicles stray into the shoulder area.

The analysts were not fans of the numerous bridges along Route 8, either, noting in the report that "[a] number of the bridge structures along the study section have geometric and operational conditions that do not meet present design standards."

You can read the complete study here.

If the Route 8 engineering studies don't make you go "Hmmm," certainly the recent headlines will.

Last week, a motorist in a Honda HRV drove the wrong way on Route 8 in Waterbury, injuring herself and two men in the other car.

A week before that, multiple people were injured when a vehicle drove the wrong way on Route 8 and caused an accident, according to a report.

On the Fourth of July, a man died after crashing into a tree on Route 8 South in Harwinton.

A month earlier, state police reported they tracked down a wrong way driver in Torrington.

In May, a Stratford man died Sunday after a crash on Route 8, according to reports.

A month before, a Prospect man was pronounced dead at the scene after falling from an overpass and being struck by 2 cars on Route 8 in Naugatuck .

For those looking to avoid becoming another statistic, along Route 8 in Connecticut or anywhere on the nation's roadways, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a few pointers:

• Keep your gas tank close to full whenever possible. For longer trips, plan enough time to stop to stretch, get something to eat, return calls or text messages, and change drivers or rest if you feel drowsy.
• Avoid risky behaviors: Do not text or drive distracted, obey posted speed limits, and always drive sober.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs, whether legal or illicit, which can impair the skills critical for safe and responsible driving such as coordination, judgment, perception, and reaction time.
• Do take advantage of driver assistance technologies which not only help protect you and your passengers, but also other drivers and pedestrians around you. Some of these technologies are designed to warn you if you’re at risk of an impending crash, while others are designed to take action to avoid a crash. Make sure you understand what driver assistance technologies you have and how they work.