Posted on May 18, 2023
HARTFORD— State Rep. Holly Cheeseman (R-37) on Wednesday supported legislation aimed at combating wrong-way driving, including a step toward his goal of getting rumble strips installed on highway entrance and exit ramps.
The bill, H.B. 6746, An Act Concerning Wrong-Way Driving Detection, calls for the installation of wrong-way driving detection systems on at least 120 high-risk exit ramps. It also calls for a public awareness campaign about the growing problem while also requiring the Department of Transportation to provide a grant from available resources to the University of Connecticut to analyze the effectiveness of directional rumble strips.
Rep. Cheeseman said, “The legislation is seeking to be proactive and stop these tragic wrong-way crashes from becoming endemic. Having these detection systems strategically placed at high-risk exit ramps should stem the emerging problem.”
After increases in 2020 and 2021, 2022 delivered another increase wrong-way crashes—13 of them, resulting in 23 fatalities, according to state transportation leaders.
A wrong-way driving detection system, as described under the bill, would be capable of alerting drivers—using flashing lights—when they’re going the wrong way. Such systems would also notify police when a wrong-way driver is detected while also broadcasting a notice on electronic message boards along a highway to alert other motorists.
In 2020, Rep. Cheeseman who sits on the State Bond Commission, approved $1 million in bonding to purchase signs that flash a warning when they’ve detected a vehicle entering the road in the wrong direction, and in 2022 an additional $20 million in bonds were approved for DOT to purchase advanced wrong way driving technology. This session, the legislature’s Finance Committee, where Rep Cheeseman serves as the ranking member, has acted favorably on a bond bill that includes $20 million in bonds in each of FY24 and FY25 for wrong way driving countermeasures.
The legislation approved unanimously in the House on Wednesday now requires action in the State Senate.
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