Connecticut SB 484: AN ACT CONCERNING DISTRACTED DRIVING AND THE SAFE OPERATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE IN A HIGHWAY WORK ZONE.

Bill Text

Senate Bill No. 484 
 
Public Act No. 26-120 
 
 
AN  ACT  CONCERNING  DISTRACTED  DRIVING  AND  THE  SAFE 
OPERATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE IN A HIGHWAY WORK ZONE. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section  1.  Section  14-296aa  of  the  general  statutes  is  amended  by 
adding subsection (l) as follows (Effective October 1, 2026): 
(NEW) (l) No person shall be subject to the prosecution for a violation 
of the provisions of this section and subparagraph (D) of subdivision (1) 
of  subsection  (a)  of  section  14-222,  as  amended  by  this  act,  because  of 
the same offense. 
Sec. 2. Section 14-222 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes 
is  repealed  and  the  following  is  substituted  in  lieu  thereof (Effective 
October 1, 2026): 
(a) (1) (A) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any public 
highway of the state, or any road of any specially chartered municipal 
association or of any district organized under the provisions of chapter 
105,  a  purpose  of  which  is  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  roads 
and sidewalks, or in any parking area for ten cars or more or upon any 
private road on which a speed limit has been established in accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  section  14-218a  or  section  14-307a  or  upon  any 
school property recklessly, having regard to the width, traffic and use 

Senate Bill No. 484 
 
Public Act No. 26-120 2 of 3 
 
of such highway, road, school property or parking area, the intersection 
of streets and the weather conditions. 
(B) The operation of a motor vehicle upon any such highway, road or 
parking area for ten cars or more at such a rate of speed as to endanger 
the life of any person other than the operator of such motor vehicle, or 
the  operation,  downgrade,  upon  any  highway,  of  any  motor  vehicle 
with a commercial registration with the clutch or gears disengaged, or 
the operation knowingly of a motor vehicle with defective mechanism, 
shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this subsection. 
(C) The operation of a motor vehicle upon any such highway, road or 
parking area for ten cars or more at a rate of speed greater than eighty-
five  miles  per  hour  but  not  greater  than  one  hundred  miles  per  hour 
shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this subsection. 
(D)  The  operation  of  a  motor  vehicle  in  a  highway  work  zone,  as 
defined in section 14-212d, while engaged in any activity prohibited by 
section 14-296aa, as amended by this act, shall constitute a violation of 
the provisions of this section. 
(2) Any person who violates any provision of subdivision (1) of this 
subsection  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  nor  more 
than three hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days or 
be  both  fined  and  imprisoned  for  the  first  offense  and  for  each 
subsequent offense shall be fined not more than six hundred dollars or 
imprisoned not more than one year or be both fined and imprisoned. 
(b) (1) No  person  shall  operate  any  motor  vehicle  upon  any  public 
highway of the state, or any road of any specially chartered municipal 
association or of any district organized under the provisions of chapter 
105,  a  purpose  of  which  is  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  roads 
and sidewalks, or in any parking area for ten cars or more or upon any 
private road on which a speed limit has been established in accordance 

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with  the  provisions  of  section  14-218a  or  14-307a  or  upon  any  school 
property at a rate of speed greater than one hundred miles per hour. 
(2) Any person who violates subdivision (1)  of this subsection shall 
be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than six hundred 
dollars  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  thirty  days  or  be  both  fined  and 
imprisoned for the first offense and for each subsequent offense shall be 
fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than 
one year or be both fined and imprisoned. 
(3) Any  police  officer  who  arrests  a  person  for  a  violation  of 
subdivision (1) of this subsection, who has previously been convicted of 
a  violation  of  subdivision  (1)  of  this  subsection,  shall  cause  the  motor 
vehicle such person was operating at the time of the current offense to 
be  impounded  for  a  period  of  forty-eight  hours  after  such  arrest.  The 
owner of such motor vehicle may reclaim such motor vehicle after the 
expiration of such forty-eight-hour period upon payment of all towing 
and storage costs. 
(c) No  person  shall  be  subject  to  prosecution  because  of  the  same 
offense for a violation of both (1) subsection (a) or (b) of this section, and 
(2) subsection (a) of section 14-219. 
 
 
 
Governor's Action: 
Approved June 4, 2026