How it started
Reckless on our Roads is a series that looks into why Connecticut's roads have gotten more dangerous, and what's being done to stop it.
We started working on our first story back in 2023 - and much of the behavior we saw then is still happening today.
How many times have you come home from work frustrated about getting cut off, tailgated or worse - and you didn’t have the video to prove it?
NBC Connecticut Investigates has spent several months on the road with cameras, capturing those scary moments.
Many of you told us about your experiences with reckless driving and close calls.
Here are a series of stories breaking down what you can do to stay safer.
Deadly crash data
While crashes related to speeding and aggressive driving may have plateaued at a post-pandemic peak, deaths from these kinds of crashes went up a third during the pandemic and haven't gone down, according to the CT Transportation Safety Research Center.
Here's a breakdown of fatal crashes on state roadways since 2015:
What Connecticut law says about cannabis impairment
Driving high equals a DUI - that’s the message the Connecticut Department of Transportation has been driving home since the state legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021.
The state has one of the highest rates of drunken driving fatalities in the country. But confirming a driver is impaired by cannabis is more complicated than determining alcohol impairment.
Chief Investigator Len Besthoff spoke on Face the Facts about why the law about driving under the influence on cannabis is complicated.
Click here for the full story.
Lab for cops: Finding a way to measure cannabis levels
One of the biggest questions about cannabis legalization has been "will police be able to tell if a driver is high?"
Currently, there’s no way to measure it like there is with alcohol. The UConn Transportation Safety Research Center put that to the test, hosting a unique experiment where law enforcement could see how well they could detect impairment.
Click here for the full story.
Drivers caught on camera illegally passing school buses in Bridgeport
The City of Bridgeport released data on the shocking number of drivers caught on camera illegally passing stopped school buses in the city since the beginning of the school year.
From Sept. 3, 2023 to Feb. 3, 2024, nearly 10,000 motorists passed school buses that were stopped with lights flashing, according to Bridgeport officials.
Bridgeport police have looked at tens of thousands of video clips since September. The city took action after a pilot program showed drivers failing to stop for school buses at a rate of about 75 violations per weekday.
Passing a stopped school bus has always been illegal under state law. A Bridgeport state senator is leading the charge to allow towns and cities to issue their own citations.
The city has outfitted its entire 248-bus fleet with cameras and license plate readers. The data is sent to police within 48 hours and drivers caught violating the law are ticketed.
Click here for the full story.
New state police campaign includes focus on aggressive driving
The best way to learn the difficulties of the fight to curb aggressive driving in our state is to go on the front lines and see what law enforcement is dealing with on a daily basis.
NBC CT Investigates got new insight from state troopers in their efforts against the epidemic of aggressive driving.
Click here for the full story.
School bus drivers seen violating the law
NBC CT Investigates saw school buses and vans exceeding the speed limit, rolling through stoplights and stop signs, and making questionable lane changes.
Click here for the full story.
Reckless driving may have played role in fiery crash on I-95 in Norwalk
State police say the cause of a large crash and oil tanker fire on I-95 in Norwalk remains under investigation.
However, state public safety sources tell NBC Connecticut Investigates that reckless driving by the operator of a car appears to be involved.
The bridge was demolished due to the intensity of the fire and was reopened months after the crash. Check out dashcam video of the crash here.
Click here for the full story.
Safety tradeoff with red light cameras?
One idea getting adopted in some Connecticut towns and cities is automated traffic light enforcement with cameras - that means tickets and fines for red light runners.
But while this might prevent one kind of accident from occurring, it may cause another.
Click here for the full story.
School bus and van drivers seen violating rules of the road
While it has been a while since we’ve had a deadly school bus crash like the one in Hartford in 2010, they can and do happen, leaving students traumatized.
There have been over 8,900 school bus accidents in Connecticut, both major and minor, since 2015.
The CT School Transportation Association (COSTA) admits school bus drivers get on the road with less classroom and behind-the-wheel time than people driving similarly-sized vehicles. But they say more training is not the answer.
Click here for the full story.
Car insurance rates driven up
The spike in reckless driving in our state has started to hit people in their wallet when it comes to car insurance.
Rate comparison website Insurify predicted our state may see an average premium increase approaching 35%.
Click here for the full story.
Motorcycle deaths
Our state is on track to surpass the deadliest year on record when it comes to motorcycles.
Between January and July 2024, more than 36 motorcyclists died, according to an expert from UConn’s Transportation Safety Research Center.
Click here for the full story.
Pedestrian deaths
Connecticut is on a near-record pace of pedestrian traffic deaths, according to the state's transportation institute.
Michelle Trausch died from her injuries after being struck in a hit-and-run in Waterbury. Police later found the driver.
Pedestrian traffic deaths have reached a pace that’s now on track to potentially meet, or surpass the state record. Eric Jackson with the CT Transportation Institute said there are several initiatives underway to try to tackle the issue.
Click here for the full story.
Sidewalk solutions
Vernon
Safety leaders are searching for solutions when it comes to how to stem the surge in pedestrian traffic deaths in our state. It turns out the best solution might just be a simple one: more sidewalks.
It’s what’s happening in Vernon when it comes to pedestrian safety, and it’s something we need more of.
Public works crews have begun a $1.35 million project that includes linking sidewalks across town, repairing them and adding 8,000 feet of new sidewalk.
Click here for the full story.
Glastonbury
The area where Bell Street and Hebron Avenue intersect in Glastonbury has been one where pedestrians keep a close eye on drivers.
After many years of waiting, there's now a brand-new sidewalk. The project cost a little more than $750,000, and the state picked up a majority of the tab.
Click here for the full story.
City in New Jersey sets standard for safety
NBC Connecticut visits an out-of-state city with zero traffic fatalities since 2018.
Chief Investigator Len Besthoff traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey to learn what one city’s secret sauce is.
Click here for the full story.
Our cameras capture drivers running stop signs
Stop signs are self-explanatory - they spell out what you’re supposed to do when you encounter one. In practice, drivers are not always following the letter of the law.
NBC Connecticut Investigates looked into the frequency of crashes at stop sign intersections and found out, it hasn’t really been studied.
So we put some intersections to the test. We staked out five intersections in cities and towns around the state. What our cameras captured time and time again were vehicles rolling past stop signs.
Some drivers at least slowed down, while others blew right through the intersection, including what appeared to be a state police car and a Connecticut paratransit van.
