A vehicle has reportedly veered off the highway and into the woods. Extrication may be required, officials said.

Starting Thursday and continuing through Wednesday, June 26, police will be cracking down on drivers who text or use a hand-held cell phone.

You know who they are. Maybe even you. Go ahead, admit it.

If you do, there is a better chance you can get a ticket in the next week.

That’s because of a stepped-up enforcement campaign that’s been named: “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other”

Hey, that could be the name of a country song.

Under Connecticut’s cell phone and texting law, violations involve heavy fines, ranging from $125 for a first offense, $250 for a second violation, and $400 for each subsequent violation.

The crackdown on texting and illegal phone use will commence in four separate, week-long enforcement waves in June and October, 2013, as well as March and July, 2014. The expanded program is made possible by a $275,000 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The next round of enforcement waves – in Danbury, Ridgefield, Redding, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown and Monroe –is an expansion of an earlier, city-wide pilot project undertaken in the Hartford metro area in 2010. This project was designed to assist communities in enforcing texting bans and to determine what techniques work best.

An analysis of the Hartford high-visibility distracted driving demonstration experience showed a 57 percent drop in handheld cell phone use, while texting dropped by nearly three-fourths.

The study also confirmed that it is more challenging to detect a driver texting behind the wheel than one who is using a hand-held cell phone.

“Distracted driving, especially the use of a cell phone or other electronic device, is one of the most dangerous things you can do behind the wheel,” CT Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said in a release. “Roving patrols will be out in force throughout several Connecticut communities during these periods, in an effort to stress Connecticut’s zero tolerance for distracted drivers.”

According to the latest information from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,300 people were killed in 2011 and approximately 387,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, many of whom were illegally using cell phones and other electronic devices.

According to a separate study by NHTSA, in 2011, 660,000 drivers were using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving during the day at any given daylight moment.

“The law against driving and texting behind the wheel is in force 365 days a year,” added Redeker.

The expansion of the program will provide additional information to other states and national highway safety experts about how effective certain enforcement strategies can be in curtailing illegal cell phone use, including harder-to-detect texting.

So far, 40 states (including Connecticut), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers; 10 states (including Connecticut), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands also ban hand-held cell-phone use by drivers. Connecticut’s anti-cell phone and texting ban became law in 2010.

Sure there were a few accidents on southwestern Connecticut roads, but the big problem today was simply congestion on the Merritt, 95 and I-84.

Interstate 95

Horrible. A SB bumper to bumper crawl from Exit 34 in Stratford all the way down to Exit 14 in Norwalk. That’s more than 20 miles; from the Housatonic to Norwalk rivers.

Speeds pick up a bit in Darien and then it’s slow again in Stamford.

Check these live cams:

Fairfield Exit 22

Exit 18 in Westport

Exit 15 in Norwalk

Exit 8 in Stamford

Exit 3 in Greenwich

Merritt Parkway

Sorry; not much better there. It’s a slog of about 18 miles from Trumbull to New Canaan.

Speeds increase to the low 30s mph, then you’re slammed again in Norwalk with delays.

Horrible.

-95 @ East Ave
Traffic closest to camera is traveling South
Video Provided by ConnDOT

I-95 southbound is backed up at Atlantic Street in Stamford from residual delays following an accident. It is also heavy behind that, through Darien and Westport, because of the volume of traffic.

The Merritt Parkway is moving, thouigh sluggishly, southbound through lower Fairfield County. It starts bogging down at the White Plains Road exit in Trumbull and you won’t be free of red tail lights ahead until High Ridge Road in Stamford.

Route 8 southbound is tightening up around Exit 20 in Seymour through Exit 15 in Derby, where the average speed is 31 miles per hour, the DOT says.

Route 25 south is carrying heavy traffic near Purdy Hill Road in Monroe.

There are no delays reported on Metro North trains in or out of Grand Central Terminal.

Interstate 95

The SB stretch between Exit 30 in Stratford to Exit 22 in Fairfiled is bumper to bumper for about 12 miles. You’d be lucky to crack 20 mph on this segment.

Speeds pick up past the Sherwood Island Connector in Westport, then slow down again near Route 7 in Norwalk.

In Stamford the right lane was blocked because of a disabled vehicle between Exits 8 and 9. Good job of clearing it quickly. Check the live cam.

Merritt Parkway

Not a good day on the Merritt.

A slow go from Trumbull all the way down to New Canaan. That’s nearly 18 miles of  slow moving traffic between Exits 48 and 36. At least it’s not raining.

Big slowdown near Route 7 in Norwalk.

Traffic slows down on I-84 in Danbury near Exit 6 – Rockwell Rd.

Interstate 84

Heavy westbound traffic from Southbury to Newtown. Traffic slows for about 6 miles.

Route 8

SB traffic slows from Ansonia to the Commodore Issac Hull Bridge in Shelton.

SB Route 8/25 getting jammed in B-port at the I-95 merge.

Metro-North

On or close to schedule.

The shoulder is blocked and the left lane is closed. . No word on injuries, but the DOT warns of delays for nearly 8 miles, back to Exit 50.

I-95 is its usual horror show heading southbound, starting at the Seaview Avenue Exit (29) in Bridgeport and going out to the Sherwood Island Connector at Exit 18.

Things ease a bit there, the DOT estimates you’ll be going about 47 miles per hour,  before things slow down again by the Route 7 connector in Norwalk.

Route 8 remains clear through the Valley.

There are delays on I-84 westbound in  Waterbury and Hartford due to heavy traffic. I-91 is open and clear between New Haven and Hartford in both directions.

Metro North trains are running on or close to schedule.

I–95 @ Exit 22 (Fairfield Service Plaza)
Traffic closest to camera is traveling North
Video Provided by ConnDOT

Interstate 95

An accident has blocked the SB shoulder near Exit 17 in Westport. Fortunately, it’s not causing any backups.

The biggest bottleneck is SB Exit 26 – Wordin Ave. in Bridgeport.

SB traffic is building in Bridgeport around Exit 27 through Exit 22 in Fairfield; about 4 miles.

It’s getting a little tight in Norwalk wound Route 7.

Still a good ride to Stamford, but that will change soon.

Also a a smooth roll east into New Haven.

Merritt Parkway

Congestion building around the Route 8 and 25 intersections in Trumbull. Speeds slow to about 40 mph all the way down to Exit 41 in Westport.

After that, it’s a nice shot all down the line to the New York border.

Interstate 84

An earlier eastbound accident has been cleared in Waterbury. Heavy traffic across the Mixmaster, past the Brass City Mall.

Westbound is congested between Exits 18 and 16 (6.6 miles) in Southbury area.

Metro-North

On or close to schedule.

Closer to home, delays are already being reported on I-95 southbound in Fairfield  between exits 26 and 22, a 3-mile piece of highway that you’ll get to study in detail if you’re passing through right now.

The bottom of Route8/25 where it ties into I-95 in Bridgeport is also at a virtual standstill. Do people really get to I-95 and not know whether they want to go toward New Haven or New York?

Route 8 is clear through the Valley.

Metro North is not reporting any delays or service interruptions.

I-95 s/o Mill Hill Rd
Traffic closest to camera is traveling South
Video Provided by ConnDOT

The crash occurred shortly after 4 p.m. when a tractor-trailer driving down Post Road attempted to drive under the Tokaneke Road bridge, which carries train tracks over the Post Road.

The truck got stuck and removing it took several hours, causing traffic congestion in the area though no one was believed to have been injured, police said.

Traffic is crawling from the point where the Route 8/25 ramps connect in Bridgeport out through New Canaan now. That’s a stretch of more than 20 miles at an average speed of 31 miles per hour (it drops to 16 miles per hour in spots, including near Park Avenue in Bridgeport and at the Fairfield rest area). You’ll have plenty of time to finish that hard roll you’ll been hanging onto waiting to eat it.

Things aren’t great on I-95 southbound either, but the slowdown is much shorter there: from the Myrtle Avenue exit in Bridgeport to Exit 21, Mill Plain Road in Fairfield.

Then things will open up again until Norwalk, where it bogs down again at the New Creek Road exit. Go ahead, finish your breakfast. We’ll wait for you.

I-95 at New Creek Rd
(Traffic closest to camera is on 95 South)
Provided by TrafficLand/ConnDOT