How Connecticut officials are trying to put a stop to wrong way driving

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — With wrong-way crashes becoming more of a trend in Connecticut, state police and the department of transportation are working to put a stop to it.

Waterbury man arrested in East Hartford wrong-way crash

"I think about drunk driving I think about people who do drugs it's scary, sometimes I work really late and I do think about that kind of stuff, and it really makes me nervous," Kirstyn Bee of Hartford said.

When state police respond to wrong way drivers, it puts their lives in jeopardy as well.

"The general public doesn't have a radio in the car so they have no idea that there's a wrong way driver coming at them, hitting them head on," Trooper Javed Schwapp said. "Again it's one of those things that surprised me, I didn't realize there were that many before I became a trooper, and now being here at true beach a lot of troopers here have been hit by runway drivers."

The state has added five more wrong way detection systems on ramps around Connecticut, bringing the total to 80. They flash lights and immediately notify police when a driver heads the wrong way on the highway.

"Multiple times a week especially on those Friday Saturday and Sunday nights, the systems are being activated, the good news is there hasn't been a real rash or increase in crashes, but this could be happening on more ramps across Connecticut," Josh Morgan, a DOT spokesperson, said.

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