Connecticut Pilot Program Reduced Speeding in Work Zones

HDR’s Timothy Young and Andrew Cadmus on the Safety Benefits of Automated Enforcement

Hoping to protect workers, drivers and passengers from work zone crashes, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) conducted a pilot program using automated speed detection equipment to identify speeding vehicles in active work zones. 

Automated enforcement has been well-documented as an effective tool to reduce speeding and improve safety, and it is most successful when implemented with appropriate policies, technology and approach. In Connecticut, the pilot policies and operating procedures were structured to reinforce the program’s safety goals and a comprehensive “Know the Zone” campaign helped educate drivers on the importance of safe driving in work zones.

HDR’s Timothy Young, senior project manager, and Andrew Cadmus, tolling operations and traffic enforcement technology lead, recently co-authored an article for Roads & Bridges magazine about CTDOT’s pilot program. Young and Cadmus shared how setting up the pilot program required hundreds of policy decisions and processing business rules, all while remaining compliant with Connecticut’s statutes and regulations.

An analysis of data collected from five locations where enforcement equipment was deployed showed the introduction of automated speed control technology succeeded in reducing the number of vehicles speeding in those work zones by up to 18%, and it reduced excessive speeders (15 mph or more over the posted speed) by 50% or more. 

“The benefit of CTDOT’s successful pilot was not only that it demonstrated how technology can improve safety, but that thoughtful and strategic implementation of this technology can gain public support for lasting change,” Young and Cadmus wrote.

Read the whole article, “Conn. Teaches Safety With Automated Enforcement,” in the April 2026 issue of Roads & Bridges.