National Motorists Association
Massachusetts Page
It has been a strange summer. Our friend and supporter, the Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby got canned till the elections; gas prices kept going up and down, rain kept coming in and out, and the legislators kept talking left and right.
After it was announced as a done deal - mostly because Massachusetts would
gain millions and millions of dollars from the feds - a drum roll, please:
The
Primary Enforcement of Seat Belt Laws Is Dead... for now...
Legislation that would have allowed police officers to stop drivers for not wearing seat belts died on July 30, after House leaders opted not to take up the controversial bill in the last day of the formal session. Currently, police officers can fine a motorist for not wearing a seat belt only if the car is pulled over for another infraction, or a child under the age of 13 isn't buckled up. The new bill would have allowed officers to pull over any driver or passenger for simply not wearing their seat belts.
I'd like to thank our Activist John Carr, and especially the lifetime member Chip Ford, for all the work they've done on this issue.
The bill proponents promised to reintroduce it in December.
Legislators must get annoyed as anyone by people yaking on the phone and not paying attention to their driving. It's just that by now it's too late for an outright ban of cell phone use. So, to make themselves feel better, our Legislators are about to pass a bill "for our children."
The proposed Senate bill H4810, which would prohibit school bus drivers, except in emergencies, from using a mobile telephone while driving, serves as a prime example of a legislative micromanagement of an virtually non-existent problem. Besides being unenforceable (how does a police officer prove any particular phone call was non-emergency?), it also happens to be unnecessary. Don't we already have laws about unsafe operation of motor vehicles?
The federal government requiring the state to implement a new, enhanced vehicle inspection program went into effect last October. Many people last year got their cars inspected in September, setting up a possible crunch for this year. About 380,000 inspections occur throughout the state each month but 700,000 to 900,000 vehicles have stickers set to expire in September, heightening concerns about long lines at inspection stations. (Reported by the RMV.)
New drivers face stronger penalties...
Teenagers and other new drivers face stiffer penalties under a law that took
effect this summer. The new law targets drivers who have had licenses for two
years or less. During the first year, the driver's license may be suspended
for speeding or other offenses. Second-year drivers are allowed one ticket
before facing possible license suspension.
...and cabbies face drug testing
New drivers in Nashua, NH may be tested when they apply for their first
licenses, and 50 percent of all cab drivers in the city may be randomly tested
each year.
Construction of an additional lane for the 21 miles of Route 3 from Route 128 to the New Hampshire border will begin later this year. Widening of Rt. 20 to 4 lanes between Interstate 495 and Northborough has been approved to begin next spring.
MassHighway is divided into five districts. I have been contacting individual district offices about specific speed limits on state highways. Districts 2 (Springfield) and 4 (Boston) are unwilling to consider speed limit changes. Districts 1 and 3 are. As this is being written, the District 1 traffic engineer is doing traffic studies on Route 2 and Route 41 in the Berkshires; District 3 is working on Route 9 east of Worcester and the I-290/Route 85 connector. I expect speed limit increases on all these roads.
Members on the south shore should thank State Representative Francis L. Marini. It was only because of his intervention that the speed limit increased. His address is Room 124, State House, Boston, MA 02133. Telephone: (617) 722-2100 E-mail: Rep.FrancisMarini@hou.state.ma.us
The Boston proposal to lower the residential speed limit from 30 to 25 failed, but Senator James Jajuga, chair of the legislature's Public Safety committee, has agreed to hold hearings on speed limits in the fall. There is no telling what might happen. Senator Jajuga has in the past blocked requests from individual cities and towns for the ability to lower speed limits without state approval, but the pressure for reductions is mounting. NMA members may receive a legislative alert if we see signs of trouble.
Both the MDC and the Massachusetts Turnpike have told NMA members that there are no traffic studies justifying their speed limits. The MDC went even further, claiming that they don't need traffic studies because the Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices does not apply to them. While MUTCD violations are common, this is the first time I have heard of an agency explicitly claiming they don't have to comply. I have asked the Federal Highway Administration to investigate further. The MUTCD is federal law, and states cannot unilaterally choose to ignore it.
WHAT: Annual Northeast NMA Meet
WHEN: Saturday, October 21, 00. 1:00 pm
WHERE: - NMA members only -
AGENDA: Our goal is to have a legal expert, someone with laser/radar experience and a ticket fighting expert available. There will also be updates from HQ and the respective Chapter Coordinators regarding what is going on in their states. This will allow the NMA member who attends to walk away a smarter, safer and more "invisible" driver. Expected cost of food is roughly $20.00 per person, plus drinks - non-alcoholic, of course.
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Saturday, August 5, 2000
by Sheila McLaughlin
Police Chief Chuck Huff denied allegations Friday that an officer running radar on a stretch of Interstate 75 may have contributed to a crash that killed a Germantown woman. But a West Chester man who witnessed Thursday's accident told The Cincinnati Enquirer it appeared that Raymond Delscamp lost control of his car when vehicles in front of him braked quickly because of a police officer.
The three-quarter mile stretch of I-75 at Galbraith Road is known as a speed trap, and is listed as such on a national Web site. Thursday's crash wasn't the first time someone was hurt there during speed enforcement.
"(They) take the cruiser and put it in a position where it is hidden, where the general public has very little time to notice where they are at," said Councilman Roland Heyne Jr., who has waged an unsuccessful five-year battle to reduce the village's interstate traffic enforcement.
And so, as we come up on the halfway mark around the year, I want you to
remember the moral of this story: It's the speed limit enforcement that kills!
Always wear your seatbelts. Over and out,
Ivan Sever
P.S. Below is a personal note I got regarding the above story:
Hello,
I was recently reading your web page and found the article about the Delscamp wreck in Cincinnati.
That Germantown woman killed in the accident was my mother. I thought it was an interesting moral you had, you know, "it's the speed limit enforcement that kills!" I still to this day don't really know whose fault the accident was and I don't think I ever will. But I appreciate you informing everyone that this sort of thing can and does happen.
My parents were very happy together and very happy loving parents. Thanks.
Lindsey Delscamp
Dear Ivan,
It is my sad duty to inform you that (former Councilman) Roland Heyne died on 7/18/03 after a year long battle with cancer. i shall continue to try and do the work he started here, and to try to stop the deaths from the ticket mill that is still up and running, to the tune of $50,000.00 or more a month in our one square mile village.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Patricia Heyne