Connecticut is on pace to see a sizable drop in fatal crashes in 2025 compared to the last several years, but experts say it’s still too early for a victory lap.
Through Dec. 17, Connecticut had 256 traffic-related fatalities, according to UConn’s Connecticut Transportation Institute. During the same time period last year, 304 fatalities were reported. That followed 295 fatal crashes in the same timeframe in 2023; 347 in 2022; 289 in 2021; and 287 in 2020, the numbers show.
“The overall drop is always great to see, and the drop in driver and passengers (fatalities) is very encouraging,” said Eric Jackson, research professor and executive director of the Connecticut Transportation Institute.
So far in 2025, there were 138 fatalities involving drivers or passengers, representing a nearly 23% drop compared to the previous five-year average. Fatal motorcycle and ATV crashes are also down, with 53 reported in the state as of Dec. 17, marking about a 19% drop compared to the five-year average.
The areas that increased compared to the five-year average include fatal pedestrian and pedal bike crashes, the stats show.
“Pedestrian (deaths) were still up,” Jackson said, adding that the number could be somewhat skewed by an increase of people who get places on foot.
“So it’s sad to say but it’s kind of expected that we would see an increase in pedestrian (fatalities),” said Jackson, who also serves as director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center. “But still not happy that we’re seeing that increase.”
Compared to the five-year average, the 57 pedestrian deaths through Dec. 17 represent about a 2% increase. That number is slightly less than the 59 pedestrian deaths at the same point in 2024 but much higher than the 47 deaths reported in 2023.
The eight bike deaths so far this year are double what that number has been the last three years, the statistics show.
“Obviously, bicycle crashes being kind of double what they typically are is a concern,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to figure out right now if that’s kind of e-bike related or not. Unfortunately, the form that we have right now doesn’t classify the bicycle, whether it was an e-bike or not, so it’s a little challenging for us to figure out exactly what type of bicycle is involved.”
Though traffic fatalities are down this year, it’s still higher than pre-pandemic numbers. Some of the strategies used by the state to drive down roadway fatalities over the past several years have included the installation of wrong-way driver detection systems on some of Connecticut’s highway off-ramps, increased enforcement and the allowance of automated red light and speed cameras to be used by cities and towns. Currently, 10 cities and towns have received approval for use of the cameras, and another two have submitted applications that are being reviewed.
Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesperson Josh Morgan said state’s wrong-way driving program is the largest in the country and noted that the wrong-way activation system has been activated over 800 times across the state.
“We view that anytime that the system activates the driver stops and turns around, that’s a life saved whether the driver or in their passengers or innocent vehicle heading in the right direction that gets into one of those crashes,” Morgan said. “So you know hundreds of lives have been saved in our estimation because of that program which is now two years two years in the making.”
To learn how effective these measures are, Jackson said researchers will need to look at the specific areas where they are being used and study the data that either supports or refutes a difference in driver behavior.
Kimberly Przeszlowski, assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University, said it would take about 10 years of data to determine the efficacy of these types of measures.
“I think we’re not going to really know whether any of the enforcements that are currently in place are actually making a difference until we collect a little bit more data,” said Przeszlowski, who worked as an embedded criminologist with the City of Miami Police Department for six years.
The measures the state has taken came after a particularly deadly stretch on Connecticut’s roads. According to the UConn crash repository, there were 195 traffic-related deaths reported in 2019, which state officials said marked the safest the roads in Connecticut had been in about 50 years. The pandemic brought about a huge rise in roadway fatalities, which peaked in 2022 when hit the highest it had been in Connecticut since 1989.
Przeszlowski — who worked in Miami improving the department’s Crime Analysis Unit and developing its real-time Crime Center — said researchers will need to look closely at whether measures like red light and speed cameras and wrong-way detection systems create “quick drops” or “short plateaus” or if they can have a long-term effect on driver behavior.
“Those can lead to initial drops and then, with time, as the novelty wears off we could see those numbers go back up and spike again,” she said. “I think a good idea is tracking when certain things are implemented to then be able to assess with more accuracy whether the things that we are doing are actually working in the field.”
Przeszlowski also said she believes technology alone will not fix the state’s issue with roadway fatalities.
“I think that sometimes we have to be cognizant of the fact that these technologies can’t replace officers, but they work really well in conjunction with officers, so I think they’re a good step forward in trying to curb this issue,” she said. “But they’re not the end-all be-all.”
According to Jackson, all signs from the DOT suggest the state will continue rolling out the technologies that could help drive down roadway fatalities. He also believes more and more towns will jump at the chance to use red light and speed cameras.
“The DOT will keep monitoring and kind of quantifying how effective these are,” he said.
“As more and more towns are able to get through the process — there’s a pretty onerous process — and more towns get familiar with that process and learn from other towns, we’ll see more of these types of systems roll out across the state.”
Morgan also noted that he expects more communities will be bringing in speed and red-light cameras.
“We only have about 10 plans that have been approved so far, but there’s been lots of conversations happening with municipalities who are reaching out trying to get some more information from us the more guidance from us,” Morgan said. “I do think that the proof is going to be in the data looking at places, and again this is something that hasn’t been submitted to us directly because the reports aren’t due yet.”
Information from Courant reporter Sean Krofssik was used in this report.