The Rhode Island Police Chiefs' Association joined law enforcement partners from across New England and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Tuesday as they launched Slow Down New England a months-long campaign to save lives by getting drivers to slow down.
Red-light cameras. Increased seat belt enforcement. Stiffer penalties for certain suspended license violations. These are the big pieces of a wide-ranging road safety package Gov. Charlie Baker pitched earlier this week. The bundle of new and old proposals has a laudable goal: curb roadway deaths across the commonwealth. But as with any sweeping legislation, this bill deserves a close look and prompts some important questions.
The Baker administration says the numbers warrant urgency on improving road safety. Statewide, vehicle miles traveled took a sharp dip after COVID-19âs arrival last year, and while it has rebounded a bit itâs still nearly 40 percent lower than pre-pandemic. Yet despite Bay State motorists driving fewer miles â as well as a new distracted driving law that went into effect last year â fatalities on the stateâs roads have not decreased significantly. The riskiest drivers, it stands to reason, might be more likely to drive even when others
Baker s Seatbelt Reform Proposal Knocked Over Profiling Concerns Some civil rights and transportation advocates caution, however, that the route to safer roads proposed by the governor is too punitive and could exacerbate racial profiling of drivers
Published April 29, 2021
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker pitched his new omnibus road safety legislation as a way to improve the state s almost-worst-in-the-nation seatbelt use and cut down on traffic deaths that have not abated during a stretch of pandemic-era decreased travel.
Some civil rights and transportation advocates caution, however, that the route to safer roads Baker proposed is too punitive and could exacerbate racial profiling of drivers a fear that Baker acknowledged.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker pitched his new omnibus road safety legislation as a way to improve the state's almost-worst-in-the-nation seatbelt use and cut.
BOSTON Warning that roadway deaths remained nearly unchanged during the pandemic despite a significant drop in traffic, Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled a suite of safety reforms Monday including red-light