State Police Take On

Exit 10/11 Speedway

By Andrew Gorosko

State police are running a speed enforcement program on a mile-long section of Interstate 84 that has a high incidence of speed-related motor vehicle accidents, state police spokesman Sergeant J. Paul Vance said this week.

Speed enforcement has been heightened on the straight, broad section of I-84 lying between Exit 10 and Exit 11. The highway section is three lanes wide in both directions. The posted speed limit in the area is 65 miles per hour. The enforcement project runs through July 31.

During the morning rush period on July 5, state police were using two unmarked police vehicles in a speed trap set up along the westbound lanes of I-84, just east of the Exit 10 off-ramp.

The interstate road section in Newtown is one of three road sections in the state that are receiving heavy speed enforcement due to high accident rates in those areas stemming from high driving speeds. The other road sections are Interstate 95 in Westport between Exit 17 and Exit 18, and the Merritt Parkway in Norwalk between Exit 38 and Exit 40.

The speed enforcement project’s goal is to cut motorists’ driving speeds and thus reduce the speed-related accident rate, Sgt Vance said. The program’s slogan is, “Obey the Signs Or Pay the Fines.”

To enforce the posted speed limit, state police plan to use laser-speed equipment, airplane-based surveillance of speeding motorists, motorcycle patrols, and speed patrols based in unmarked police cars, the sergeant said. Such unmarked police cars include Chevrolet Camaros and Impalas, Dodge Intrepids, and sport-utility vehicles. State police use such autos to travel through traffic unnoticed.

State police in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, known as the Tri-State Safety Partners, are participating in parallel speed enforcement campaigns.

Statistical accident data was used to identify the three road sections in Connecticut that warrant heavy speed enforcement due to those areas’ high rates of speed-related accidents.

After the speed enforcement project concludes on July 31, a statistical analysis will be performed to learn whether the number of speed-related crashes on the three highway sections was reduced due to the increased ticketing of motorists, according to Sgt Vance.

Under a state program, which took effect on July 1, a $10 surcharge will be added to each speeding ticket issued by state police. Such $10 surcharges for speeding and for other serious moving violations will be forwarded by the state to the municipalities within which the moving violations occurred.