Connecticut
Connecticut, a small, densely populated state located in the New England region of the United States, covers only 4,845 square miles with an estimated 3,518,288 residents (2009 U.S. Census). Over 700 people per square mile establishes Connecticut as the nation’s fourth most densely populated state.
Surrounding Connecticut is Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south. Islands belonging to New York span Connecticut’s entire coastline along the Long Island Sound. Major Connecticut cities on the sound include Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, and New Haven. The southwestern area of Connecticut is part of the New York metropolitan area and home to the majority of Connecticut’s residents, with the center of population in Cheshire, New Haven County.
Hartford is Connecticut’s state capital and third-largest city, after Bridgeport and New Haven. Nicknamed the “Insurance Capital of the World,” Hartford houses many of the world’s insurance company headquarters, and insurance is Hartford’s major industry.
Bridgeport is the most populous city in Connecticut and the fifth largest city in New England. Connecticut’s other major cities by population include New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, and Bristol. New Haven is home to the prestigious Yale University. The university is an integral part of the economy and New Haven’s largest employer.
In Connecticut, county governments were abolished in 1960. Connecticut has eight counties with no county government and no county seat. Towns are responsible for all local government activities, including emergency services and schools. In some cases, neighboring towns will share certain institutions.
Several major highways serve Connecticut including Interstate 95 and Interstate 84. Interstate 84 enters Connecticut from the west, traveling through Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford. Interstate 95 runs along Connecticut’s coast from east to west and connects New York with Rhode Island. Interstate 95 in Connecticut was formerly known as the Connecticut Turnpike.
Between New York and New Haven, Interstate 95 passes through densely populated suburbs in Fairfield County and is heavily congested. Interstate 95 is one of the nation’s most congested highways, and in Connecticut, the highway passes through densely populated communities and includes dozens of closely-spaced interchanges. Combined with the funneling effect of Long Island Sound and the fact that Interstate 95 is critical to the area’s transportation network including commercial truck traffic from New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, Interstate 95 in Connecticut is the scene of numerous devastating truck and car collisions.
Highway congestion at interchanges increases the risk of traffic accidents. When the traffic congestion is on a major freight route for tractor-trailers, the risk of car and heavy truck collisions increases. Accidents involving collisions between heavy trucks and passenger cars are typically more catastrophic than accidents involving a collision between two cars.
The I-95 Corridor Coalition reports that over 60% of Interstate 95, in all 16 states the interstate traverses, currently experiences heavy congestion. The average daily traffic in the entire corridor is over 72,000 with maximum daily traffic reaching as high as over 300,000. Average daily truck traffic is over 10,000 with maximum daily truck traffic reaching as high as over 31,000. In an Interstate 95 Sound Survey, 300 to 500 heavy trucks per hour traveled on I-94 near Westport, Connecticut during the daytime hours.
Per Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2008, there were 264 traffic accident related fatalities in Connecticut. Large trucks were involved in 26, or 7.2%, of these fatal accidents. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2008, there were 859 truck crashes in Connecticut. Of these truck accidents, 26 resulted in fatalities, while the other 833 were non-fatal crashes. In the same year, 238 truck crashes resulted in injury, while almost 600 resulted in one or more vehicles being towed from the accident. Almost half of all truck accidents involved a tractor/semi-trailer type truck.
Various driver-related factors have contributed to these truck accidents. In fatal truck accidents, driving-related factors have included driving too fast (30%), erratic or reckless driving (9.4%), and under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medications (32.8%). In the majority of fatal truck accidents, no adverse weather conditions were recorded (88.5%), and the statistic was similar for non-fatal accidents (76%). Wet roads or poor driving conditions was a road surface factor in 11.5% of all fatal crashes and 18.6% in all non-fatal truck crashes. The majority of truck crashes, fatal and non-fatal, occurred during in daylight hours. In 2008, 61.5% of all crashes occurred on interstate highways, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported in 2000 that Connecticut had over 300 miles of such highways.
