Connecticut trying to keep rural roads safe over Labor Day weekend with anti-speeding campaign

The Connecticut Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office launched an anti-speeding program this week—to coincide with Labor Day weekend—in an attempt to reverse that trend on its rural roads, reports The Ridgefield Press. The state is pushing its message on outdoor billboards, television and radio commercials and the internet, using graphic imagery to communicate the consequences of speeding. (WTNH News 8 photo)

The campaign makes 118 qualified towns are eligible for financial aid "for an increase in dedicated patrol costs, overtime for law enforcement officials, special training and radar equipment," the Press reports. "The state received funding for the program from the Federal Highway Administration." (Read more)

Last year over Labor Day weekend, law enforcement in Connecticut—which has a population of 3.6 million—gave out 1,513 tickets for speeding violations, 237 for seat-belt violations, 3,513 for other violations (hazardous moving, cell-phone usage, etc.) and made 50 drunk-driving arrests, Jeff Bailey reports for WTNH News 8 in Providence, R.I. Over the 2013 weekend, Connecticut had 259 motor vehicle accidents, leading to 44 injuries and three fatalities. (Read more)