2 New 'Speed Feedback' Signs Now In Place In Vernon

VERNON, CT — Two new roadside "speed feedback" signs are in place in Vernon, thanks to a free equipment program offered through the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

More than 400 digital speed feedback signs have been placed around the state, informing drivers of their current traveling speed, program officials said.

The signs were offered by the CT Training & Technical Assistance Center's Safety Circuit
Rider program, operated under the Connecticut Transportation Institute at UConn. Free Speed Management training was also offered to all 169 cities/towns.

Vernon's two are presently located on Center Road, just below the "s" curve about a half-mile north of Center Road School; and on South Street near Henry Park. They are solar-powered and sit beneath speed limit signs on free-standing poles.

Vernon police said they were put in areas of town know for speeding and will be moved on an "as-needed" basis.

The initial project, launched in August 2020, was a two-year program to offer two speed feedback signs and Speed Management Training to all 119 "rural designated towns" in Connecticut. The majority of towns happily accepted the offer and the program quickly grew to add an additional year and accommodate all Connecticut cities and towns.

In total, the T2 Center had a 96 percent acceptance rate, meaning 163 out of 169 municipalities

accepted the signs. Since the first delivery two-and-a-half years ago, signs have been installed at more than 415 locations around the state.

Vernon's sign rotation serves the intended purpose. The signs are supposed to be movable and temporary, meaning town officials can rotate through problematic roads and streets that might need to be monitored by speed, T2 program officials said.

Each sign would normally cost a town about $5,000, officials. The cost also includes cloud
data collection for the life of the sign, allowing town officials to collect information and data
automatically and seamlessly from anywhere.

According to the National Safety Council, speeding was a factor in 29 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2021 with a total of 12,330 deaths in the United States that year. The T2 west site can be accessed here.