Buckle up, be alert and follow the rules of the road. That's the message the Meriden Police Department is sending to all drivers, especially as they ramp up enforcement this summer.
"Everybody feels like they're in a rush. When there's no reason to be a in rush, especially when you're behind a vehicle," said Lakendra of Meriden.
But more is being done to decrease speeding and aggressive driving. Starting July 1, the police department will get $27,393 as part of a High Visibility Enforcement grant.
"These grants are reimbursable grants that are needed for overtime that's needed for the personnel expenses to get more officers out on the street," said Josh Morgan, spokesperson for CT DOT.
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Meriden Police announced this on the department's Facebook page, saying they were selected to receive this federal funding based on the number of serious and deadly crashes between 2019 and 2021.
Even today, reckless driving is an issue in the city.
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"It's like cutting people off, literally jumping in front of you," said Taylor Smith, who often drives in Meriden.
Exactly one month ago, there was a deadly crash, involving two cars and a motorcycle.
Police say it happened between Olive and Broad streets. A man driving a motorcycle lost control after hitting the first car, then collided with a second vehicle before getting trapped underneath it.
The amount of speeding, the amount of distracted driving, the amount of reckless and aggressive driving is really through the roof," said Morgan.
Morgan says in 2022 alone, 380 people were killed on Connecticut roads - a trend he has not seen this high in decades.
"Those are drivers, pedestrians, passengers, cyclists, anything who is using the roadway infrastructure," said Morgan.
Morgan says a lack of patience and pent-up frustration from the pandemic may be a few reasons the state is seeing more unsafe driving behavior. He says he's hoping grants like these can work to protect drivers and make conditions safer on the road.
