Connecticut
CT seeks to lower drunk driving threshold. Here’s what the new BAC threshold would be.
With numerous wrong-way crashes and fatalities on Connecticut highways, state lawmakers called Wednesday for making it easier to arrest drunken drivers.
The legislature’s transportation committee is debating a bill that calls for reducing the drunken driving arrest threshold to 0.05% blood alcohol content, down from the current .08.
Thomas B. Chapman of the National Transportation Safety Board testified via Zoom in favor of lowering the limit, a position by the NTSB since 2013. Utah became the first state to do so in 2018 and has seen a drop in fatalities.
Dropping the level, Chapman said, would lower the death rate by an estimated 11%. Like Connecticut, other states that are currently considering .05 are Hawaii, Washington, New York, North Carolina and others.
“We are an outlier,” Chapman said, referring to the United States. “Over 100 countries in the world have .05 or lower … That includes much of Europe, where drinking is part of the culture. What is not part of the culture is drinking and driving. … You are impaired at .05. … There is a demonstrable diminishment in cognitive and physical skills at that level.”
Noting that some drivers would not be deterred and would ignore lower levels, Chapman said, “.05 is not the entire answer on this. It is a piece of the answer.”
Nationally, 13,384 people died in the United States in alcohol-related crashes in 2021, the most recent year where complete numbers are available. That includes 112 alcohol-related deaths in Connecticut.
State transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto, testifying remotely Wednesday from a transportation meeting in Philadelphia, said, “What we have been doing as a state has not been working. … Drunk driving is a reckless choice made by the driver. … Everyone is impaired at .05. I know some people might argue with that … but the science is clear.”
Saying that Connecticut could emulate Utah, Eucalitto said the change to .05 did not decrease tourism or alcohol sales in Utah.
Marijuana impact
While the impact of drunken driving has been well documented for years, state legislators are also questioning the influence of the recent decriminalization of marijuana in Connecticut. Drivers smoking pot become impaired, and police have complained repeatedly that they do not have a simple test for marijuana in the way they can measure blood levels for alcohol.
Marijuana has been involved in some fatal accidents, and both drivers had traces of marijuana in their blood in the wrong-way crash last year that killed state Rep. Quentin “Q” Williams of Middletown after he left the governor’s inaugural ball in Hartford.
Rep. Thomas O’Dea, a New Canaan Republican, said lawmakers need to focus closely on the impact of cannabis on car crashes.
“That’s the elephant in the room in my opinion,” O’Dea said. “My biggest problem is the marijuana laws in Connecticut.”
Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant
Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield is concerned about drivers who have been smoking marijuana and got involved in car crashes.
State Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield, the committee’s ranking Senate Republican, said the combination of marijuana and alcohol can be deadly.
“Impairment of any kind is part of the danger on the roads,” Hwang told Chapman. “If we only handle one part and not address the other, it may be a half-completed task. … If you lack common sense, you’re still going to have violators on the roads.”
Chapman responded that alcohol remains the biggest problem, but there is an “increasing prevalence of other impairing substances” that include marijuana.
“It is a growing problem — one that we are concerned about,” Chapman said. “It’s not as easy to test these other substances.”
He noted that airplane pilots have an even higher standard that keeps the skies safe. He noted that pilots avoid alcohol before flying under the mantra of “eight hours from bottle to throttle.”
State Rep. Devin Carney, an Old Lyme Republican, said, “We talk about Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, but we don’t talk about Big Alcohol.”
In an attempt to reduce crashes, the committee voted last year to lower the blood alcohol level for arrest. The measure passed by 21-15 with Republicans and Democrats on both sides of the bipartisan issue. The bill, however, never passed in the state House of Representatives and Senate before time expired.
The measure is part of a broader plan to reduce a skyrocketing number of fatalities on Connecticut roads. Legislators were stunned at 366 deaths on the roads in 2022 — about one per day. The statistics show that 2022 was the worst year on Connecticut roads since 1989. While fatalities dipped to 323 last year, the accidents are continuing this year.
If approved, Connecticut would follow Utah as the second state in the nation at .05. The national standard is .08 that states have enacted in order to avoid losing funding for federal highway construction. As a result, Connecticut is currently at the same level as nearby New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Wednesday marked the committee’s final public hearing of the 2024 legislative session as nearly 60 people signed up to testify. No decisions were made Wednesday, but all bills are subject to final approval by the full House of Representatives and state Senate before the regular session adjourns on May 8.
Statistics
Besides .05, the committee is working on overall traffic safety, including the deaths of pedestrians and a rash of wrong-way crashes on the highways.
In 2022, the 366 overall deaths were the highest in 33 years. Another peak in 2022 was 73 pedestrian fatalities, compared to 55 pedestrians in 2019 and 2021 and 51 last year.
Motorcycle deaths have claimed 68, 66, and 62 lives over the past three years, up sharply from 49 in 2019.
Wrong-way crashes also peaked in 2022 with 13 accidents that led to 23 fatalities, the highest total by far in recent years. Last year, the total dropped back down to 7 fatalities — still above the levels of four each in 2020 and 2021.
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
The Connecticut high school football’s CIAC postseason wrapped up with the state championships this past weekend on Saturday.
Finishing in the No. 1 spot in this week’s final Top 25 rankings out of the Constitution State is Avon Old Farms after they defeated The Williston Northampton School, 35-21, in the Drew Gamere Bowl to end their season a few weeks ago. New Canaan sits right behind as they repeated as Class L champs. Which other teams from around Connecticut high school football deserves to be in the final set of Top 25 rankings for the 2025 campaign?
The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.
Here are the last Connecticut high school football rankings for 2025, according to Massey as of Dec. 14.
1. Avon Old Farms Beavers
Avon Old Farms (10-0) opened up the Connecticut high school football season by avenging a loss to Brunswick School from last season and have set the tone for the rest of the campaign. The Beavers have a talented offense that’s averaging 40.7 points per game, led by quarterback Matthew Baer, running back Kharon Craig, and offensive tackle Charlie Thom (Notre Dame commitment).
The Beavers have concluded their season play out of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Counci (NEPSAC) when they defeated The Williston Northampton School last week in the Drew Gamere Bowl, 35-21. Avon Old Farms finishes as the No. 1 team in the Connecticut high school football rankings.
2. New Canaan Rams
The defending Class L state champion New Canaan Rams (13-0) have done it once again as they defeated Cheshire, 34-13.
The Rams have won back to back playoff games versus Darien and Weaver with ease, winning by a combined 85-13. New Canaan won its 16th state championship in head coach Lou Marinelli’s legendary career. With the win, New Canaan clinched their fourth undefeated season in program history for the Rams (1968, 1969, 2008, 2025).
New Canaan has used a high-powered offense to cruise past opponents this fall, with quarterback Maddox Hoffman throwing for 1,936 yards and 21 touchdowns. Running back Henry Stein leads the ground game as he’s rushed for 916 yards and seven touchdowns.
3. Choate Rosemary Hall Wild Boars
Choate Rosemary Hall (8-2) saw its 18-game winning streak snapped back in Week 1 when they lost against New Hampshire’s Phillips Exeter Academy in a battle of top-ranked teams in their respective states.
The Wild Boars will finish likely within the Top 5 of the rankings after they ended their 2025 season in exciting fashion as they avenged that defeat by beating Phillips Exeter Academy in the Leon Modeste Bowl in a 44-42 thriller.
In 2024, the Wild Boars had completed their second consecutive perfect season after defeating Brunswick School. They have lost only four games over the last four Connecticut high school football seasons and only allowed only four opponent to score double digits.
The Wild Boars are another prep school that features multiple future Division I players, including Tanner Raymond (Rutgers) and interior offense lineman Will Tellers.
4. St. Thomas More Chancellors
St. Thomas More (1-3) remain steady as the No. 3 team in our latest set of Connecticut high school football rankings after a 50-21 loss to New Jersey’s No. 3 team, Hun School to end their season.
The Chancellors only losses from the 2024 season came against Maryland’s St. Frances Academy, Hun School, and Florida’s IMG Academy, respectively. St. Thomas More doesn’t have anymore scheduled games left on their 2025 slate.
Among the players the Chancellors feature on their roster are four-star edge rusher Alhassan Iddrissu (UCF), cornerback Terron Johnson, running back Malichi Greaves, and linebacker Christian King.
5. Daniel Hand Tigers
The Daniel Hand Tigers (13-1) has dominated in the Class SS playoffs, dominating all three opponents by a combined score of 122-32, after defeating the Killingly Trailblazers, 37-13, on Saturday.
Fueling the Daniel Hand offensive attack is the strong play of senior signal caller Bobby Reh, who has thrown for 2,194 yards and 29 touchdowns to only three mere picks. Junior running back Lucca Boyce leads the ground game with 1,272 yards and 14 touchdowns.
6. St Joseph (8-2)
7. Cheshire Academy (7-3)
8. Windsor (12-1)
9. Brunswick School (6-4)
10. Greenwich (8-2)
11. Newtown (8-2)
12. Killingly (11-1)
13. Fairfield College Preparatory (8-2)
14. Wilton (10-2)
15. The Taft School (5-4)
16. Bunnell (10-3)
17. Kingswood-Oxford School (8-2)
18. Berlin (12-0)
19. The Loomis Chaffee School (3-6)
20. Darien (6-5)
21. Brookfield (8-3)
22. Staples (5-5)
23. Cheshire (8-3)
24. Southington (7-3)
25. Mark T. Sheehan (10-3)
For Connecticut high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the Constitution State, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the Connecticut high school scores and football rankings.
VESTAL, NY (WBNG) — In a second straight doubleheader Saturday following up a Bearcats women’s win, the Bearcats men’s team dropped their second consecutive home game, 84-67 to Central Connecticut State.
In a closely contested matchup early on, the Bearcats stayed in it heading into the break only trailing by seven points.
In the second half, Binghamton brought it to within four points before the Blue Devils pulled away once again and went on an 11-0 run and went up by as much as 20 points.
Darin Smith Jr. finished with a game high, 23 points for the Blue Devils.
The Bearcats were without center, Demetrius Lilley which led to junior forward, Zyier Beverly, having an increased role.
Beverly led Binghamton with 21 points and five rebounds.
After back-to-back losses at home, the Bearcats now go on the road for a three game road stretch starting on Wednesday, Dec. 17 against Pittsburgh at 7p.m.
Copyright 2025 WBNG. All rights reserved.
New Canaan faces Cheshire in the 2025 Connecticut high school Class L football state championship on Saturday afternoon.
The game begins at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.
The game will stream live on the NFHS Network.
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What: Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Class L football championship
Who: New Canaan vs. Cheshire
When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025
Where: Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut
Time: 4 p.m. EST
Stream: NFHS Network
Tickets: $11,50
Record, MaxPrep state rankings: New Canaan 12-0, No. 1; Cheshire 9-3, No. 11
Here’s more information about the game from the Hartford Courant, via the Tribune News Service:
New Canaan is going for its 16th state title and fourth straight under veteran coach Lou Marinelli and New Canaan outscored its playoff opponents, 85-13. Cheshire’s last finals appearance was 2009, when coach Don Drust was an assistant for the Rams’ team, which beat Staples in overtime to win a Class LL title. Cheshire rallied from a 19-point deficit against Fairfield Ludlowe to win the Class L quarterfinal game and beat Ridgefield 21-0 in the semifinals. QB Aiden Gregorich’s pass to Liam Suomala proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarterfinal.
What is the NFHS Network?
The NFHS Network covers more than 30 sports across the country. NFHS Network costs $13.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
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