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After Deaths, Police Warn Connecticut Drivers To Stay In Cars After Crashes

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Connecticut State Police warned drivers to stay in their vehicles after four fatal crashes, two of them involving pedestrians, on the state's highways in a nine-hour span on Thursday.

A video is from a State Police cruiser in November shows the dangers of stopping on a highway in a non-emergency situation.

Photo Credit: Connecticut State Police

In 2016, 273 people have been killed in motor vehicle accidents on Connecticut's roads. 

"Vehicles with enhanced safety features are designed to sustain a crash, you are not,'' State Police said in a press release. "If you find yourself on the side of the highway, stay inside your vehicle and pull as far to the right, including into the grass, as possible."

The release said State Police and Department of Transportation crash truck drivers stop for disabled vehicles only to frequently find drivers texting, talking, entering an address into a GPS, putting on makeup, eating, looking for something on the floor and other non-emergency tasks. 

"(Drivers) should only be pulling over to the shoulder for true emergencies, i.e. serious medical distress or your vehicle becomes inoperable,'' the release said. "Ask yourself, 'Would I stop in a travel lane for this reason?' If the answer is 'no', then you should not be stopping in the shoulder for that reason."

The State Police statement also said "the last thing we want to do this holiday season is notify family members that their loved one was killed in a crash. Stay safe and look out for one another."

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