Fatal Wrong-Way Crashes Soar In 2022 As Other Alarming Trends Emerge

CONNECTICUT — A pair of fatal wrong-way crashes around Memorial Day called attention to the ongoing problem.

To date, 17 people have died in wrong-way crashes during 2022, according to data from the state crash repository and recent crash reports. That is the same amount of deaths that occurred in all of 2019, and is more than double the number of wrong-way fatalities that occurred in either 2020 or 2021. (See interactive map of wrong-way crash data here.)

Most recently, four people were killed in a crash on Interstate 95 in Guilford over Memorial Day weekend and two were killed, and another two injured in a crash on Route 82 in Haddam Tuesday. A total of six people were killed in two separate wrong-way crashes Feb. 26. Two were killed on Interstate 91 in Meriden and four were killed on Interstate 84 in Hartford.

There were four crashes involving at least one fatality from January through April in 2019, three in both 2020 and 2021, and five in 2022, according to data from the Connecticut Crash Data Repository.

This year seems to be worse than past years for wrong-way crashes, said Eric Jackson, director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center at the University of Connecticut.

“We have some theories, but it will take several months to get the data,” he said. “We don’t really know if there is a driving force behind it.”

The research center gathers and analyzes crash data from across the state. Some data, particularly toxicology report results, takes time to gather after a crash occurs.

Oftentimes, wrong-way drivers are impaired by alcohol, cannabis or other drugs, Jackson said.

Motorists who encounter a wrong-way driver should try and avoid them and call 911 as soon as it’s safe to do so, said Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz, police spokesman. State police will travel in the correct direction of traffic and attempt to stop the driver.

“We will be traveling pretty much almost head-on with the wrong-way driver with our lights and sirens, trying to stop that vehicle,” Muniz said.

Wrong-way drivers will typically travel in the leftmost lane since they believe they are in the right most lane, he said.

“We recommend motorists drive in the center and right lanes to help avoid wrong-way drivers,” Muniz said.

Wrong-way driving is more common at night when there are fewer vehicles on the road, Muniz said. Many wrong-way drivers are operating while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol. Elderly drivers are also more likely to drive on the wrong side of a roadway.

Most Connecticut wrong-way crashes that involve injuries occur on state and local roads, but crashes on interstate highways are more likely to involve fatalities, according to an analysis of data from the crash repository.

About 40 percent of all fatal wrong-way crashes occurred on interstate highways from January 2019 to April 2022. About 7 percent of all wrong-way crashes involving at least one injury occur on the interstate.

Wrong-way crashes are particularly dangerous because the force of the two vehicles colliding is essentially combined.

“The collision is going to be significantly more damaging compared to a rear-end accident where you’re traveling in the same direction,” Muniz said.

All types of fatal crashes up in recent years

Crash fatalities overall have increased in recent years. There were 251 fatalities in 2019, 300 in 2020 and 308 in 2021, according to the state crash data repository’s preliminary count; 2022 is on track to be even worse.

There are several factors at play that could at least partially explain the rise in fatal crashes, Jackson said.

Motorists in general started to drive faster on roadways during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as traffic volume greatly decreased, he said.

“People could essentially travel at any speed they wanted,” Jackson said, adding that driving speed didn’t decrease when traffic volume increased.

“People are passing at higher speeds, weaving in and out of traffic,” he said. “A lot of bad habits developed during the first part of Covid, and they haven’t gone away.”

Law enforcement traffic citations has greatly diminished as well. The state typically averaged 400,000 traffic citations per year before the pandemic, but that number dropped to 121,000 in 2020 and about 120,000 in 2021, he said. Police are on track to issue fewer than 100,000 citations for 2022.

Another angle that needs to be investigated further is whether cannabis impairment is leading to an increase in crashes, Jackson said. Connecticut legalized recreational cannabis in July 2021, but full toxicology data from that year’s crashes isn’t fully available yet. The institute will analyze data as more toxicology results from crashes become available.

Connecticut law doesn’t establish a THC concentration limit like it does for alcohol impairment. Instead, police certified as drug recognition experts conduct an evaluation, which can result in a license suspension if they determine a person is impaired.

“That's the major issue with cannabis, there is no legal limit and there is no limit at which someone is considered legally impaired,” Jackson said.