The Scariest Spots For Your Vehicle to Break Down in Connecticut

I've been a licensed driver for almost 40 years, and my cars have broken down dozens of times. You can't predict when your car is going to crap out, and I've broken down in some awful places. In my opinion, here are the scariest spots around Connecticut for your vehicle to break down.

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Fairfield County traffic is perpetually dense, and while I-95 may be our busiest, Rt. 15 - The Merritt Parkway is the most terrifying place to break down in all of Connecticut. There are quite a few miles on the Merritt where breakdown areas have been built out of necessity, but many more without anywhere to go. The angry faces that roll by after you break down in a travel lane will haunt your dreams. Same if you break down along I-95 in Norwalk, Stamford, or Bridgeport. Your broken-down vehicle will cause a 5-mile delay, and you will hear colorful language, guaranteed.

Have you ever driven by a tire changer in a horrible spot and said to yourself 'Whew, I'm glad that's not me'? On the way home, I saw a car broken down on I-84 by Exit 17 in Middlebury. The poor guy was on the right shoulder at the bottom of the big hill, trying to jack the vehicle up with tractor trailers and inattentive drivers flying by at 70-80MPH. I-84 is an incredibly busy highway that changes from three to two lanes, to five, back to two multiple times. I-84 passes directly through three of our largest cities - Hartford, Danbury, and Waterbury, and it's the primary alternative to I-95 in Connecticut for commercial NYC/Boston/Providence traffic.

Another terrifying spot to break down is along I-91 in the greater Hartford area, especially North of the city. All lanes of traffic fly through here, and there are twists and turns and HOV lanes that end with drivers swerving all around you.

Another scary place to break down is rural areas of Litchfield County, and Eastern Connecticut. I had to wait 3 hours for help to arrive when my car wouldn't start after a play at the Sharon Playhouse one evening, it's like most of Litchfield County goes to sleep by 9PM. It's the same along Rt. 2 and 395 on the way back from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, you're more likely to see a deer before the tow truck arrives.