A potential accident was prevented in North Haven Wednesday night with the help of the state's new wrong-way detection system.
On Thursday, the North Haven Police Department posted on Facebook crediting Connecticut's wrong-way detection signs for preventing an accident on I-91.
Josh Morgan, the communications director for the Connecticut Department of Transportation said the signs have helped prevent 55 lives in the past year, including the one from last night.
According to police, a driver who was lost, drove the wrong way up an I-91 exit ramp.
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“Yesterday there was that self corrected driver, a life or multiple lives saved because they did self correct,they did come back down the ramp,” Morgan said.
Morgan added the state received $40,000,000 for the rollout and installation of the wrong way detections and more will continue to be added through 2025.
“We have more than 60 systems currently online, we’re going to have more than 100 activated by the end of this year and we’ll be getting close to 200 by the end of 2025.”
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One driver in North Haven shared how the signs once helped him avoid a crash.
“It happened to me once on Whitney Avenue, getting on the parkway at Wilbur Cross, I made a left turn but too soon because the entry ramp and exit ramp are next to each other and I got down maybe 50 feet and I realized I’m going the wrong way.”
He said even with the signs installed, drivers can easily make the wrong turn.
“I could see it happening because you know you have to make the turn there’s traffic coming towards you so you can make the wrong decision quickly.”
Another driver said she believes it's a good investment the state should continue to make.
"It seems like anything to prevent people from going the wrong path on the highway would be helpful so it makes a lot of sense to do that,” said Amy Humphries.
