CT DOT Installs Wrong Way Detection System In Branford

BRANFORD, CT —In 2022, 13 wrong-way crashes resulted in 23 fatalities. In 2023, preliminary data show there were five wrong-way crashes that resulted in seven fatalities.

"In almost every wrong-way crash, the driver was found to be impaired by alcohol," according to state Department of Transportation data. "To try to stop these crashes from happening, CTDOT has been installing wrong-way driving countermeasures." The Wrong Way Detection System is one.

The system uses video cameras to detect vehicles that are traveling in the wrong direction. If a vehicle is detected, wrong-way signs outlined with multiple sets of red lights are activated and begin flashing to alert the driver that they are traveling in the wrong direction.

According to CTDOT, it analyzed 700 ramp locations, especially where on and off-ramps are located on the same side of the road, and the ramp locations are "close to establishments that serve alcohol."

Each of those ramp locations was assessed, and the more risk factors found, the higher the location ranked on the DOT's priority list to install the detection system.
The following were the risk factors that were part of the evaluation:

• Multiple off-ramps that meet at the same location,
• Wrong way event history,
• Presence of businesses that serve alcohol within ½ mile of the ramp,
• Presence of raised median or guiderail separating the on and off-ramps,
• Lack of sufficient highway illumination.

Of the 700+ analyzed, CTDOT identified 236 ramps as being high risk. These locations are the top priority to receive wrong way detection systems. One of those now with the new system is the I-95 S, exit 54 ramp in Branford.

The system alerts the CTDOT Highway Operations Center and the closest Connecticut State Police Troop barracks in real-time, "allowing staff to monitor the activities of the wrong-way driver on the ramp," according to the DOT.

"These are preventable deaths," the DOT notes. "The safety of the public traveling our roadways is our top priority. One of the largest threats to that safety is wrong way crashes. When wrong way crashes happen, they are often fatal."