Thoughts? From boston.com today...
Report: Massachusetts among worst states for drunken driving
By Steve Leblanc, Associated Press, 11/21/02
BOSTON -- Massachusetts is among the three worst states in the country when it comes to fighting drunken driving and underage drinking, according to a report released Thursday by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The state scored a "D-minus" on a national report card by the advocacy group, which faulted Massachusetts' political leaders for passing fewer than half of the laws reviewed by MADD in part to create the grades.
"We need to do more," said Barbara Harrington, executive director of MADD Massachusetts. "It is time to rekindle efforts against driving."
The group said the first thing Massachusetts should do is pass a law that mandates any driver with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit be automatically considered drunk.
Currently, state law only allows blood-alcohol levels as evidence of intoxication, rather than as proof. Juries can find a driver innocent of drunken driving even if their blood-alcohol level is above the legal limit.
Massachusetts is the only state in the country without the law, and faces the loss of millions in federal highway funds if it doesn't adopt the change.
Advocates also criticized lawmakers for failing to pass a bill allowing police to pull over a driver and issue citations for failing to wear a seat belt.
Currently, drivers in Massachusetts can be cited for failing to use seat belts only if they are pulled over for another offense, such as speeding or running a red light.
Police and prosecutors said the new laws would help them crack down on drunken driving.
"When that police officer makes the stop, he or she needs the tools, as do we in the courts, to produce the evidence that that person has been driving drunk," said Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley.
In 2001, 234 people died in car accidents involving alcohol in Massachusetts, about 49 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities, compared to a national average of 41 percent.
The rate of young drivers who had been drinking and were involved in fatal accidents in Massachusetts increased between 1998 and 2001, according to the report.
Nationally, there were 17,448 drunken driving deaths in 2001, up from 16,572 in 1999, the last time MADD conducted its "Rating the States" survey.
Massachusetts tied with Alaska, which also received a D-minus. One state, Montana, got an F.
The organization graded the nation with a C down from a C-plus in 1999. California ranking the highest with a B-plus.
The grading system is skewed against states that have existing tough drunken driving laws, said James Borghesani, spokesman for acting Gov. Jane Swift.
"The states that are trying to catch up with Massachusetts get good grades because they have a long way to go and are closing the gap between their lax drunk driving laws and Massachusetts' tough drunk driving laws," Borghesani said.
Swift filed a drunken-driving legislative package, including the bill mandating anyone with a high blood-alcohol level be automatically considered drunk. The legislation did not pass.
House Speaker Thomas Finneran said the bill could come up again in the new legislative session.
The grades are based on the number of alcohol-related crashes in each state, trends in the number of deaths, state laws on the books and enforcement efforts.
See MADD's detailed report on Massachusetts at:
http://www3.madd.org/laws/grades.cfm?StateGrade=MA
Report: Massachusetts among worst states for drunken driving
By Steve Leblanc, Associated Press, 11/21/02
BOSTON -- Massachusetts is among the three worst states in the country when it comes to fighting drunken driving and underage drinking, according to a report released Thursday by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The state scored a "D-minus" on a national report card by the advocacy group, which faulted Massachusetts' political leaders for passing fewer than half of the laws reviewed by MADD in part to create the grades.
"We need to do more," said Barbara Harrington, executive director of MADD Massachusetts. "It is time to rekindle efforts against driving."
The group said the first thing Massachusetts should do is pass a law that mandates any driver with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit be automatically considered drunk.
Currently, state law only allows blood-alcohol levels as evidence of intoxication, rather than as proof. Juries can find a driver innocent of drunken driving even if their blood-alcohol level is above the legal limit.
Massachusetts is the only state in the country without the law, and faces the loss of millions in federal highway funds if it doesn't adopt the change.
Advocates also criticized lawmakers for failing to pass a bill allowing police to pull over a driver and issue citations for failing to wear a seat belt.
Currently, drivers in Massachusetts can be cited for failing to use seat belts only if they are pulled over for another offense, such as speeding or running a red light.
Police and prosecutors said the new laws would help them crack down on drunken driving.
"When that police officer makes the stop, he or she needs the tools, as do we in the courts, to produce the evidence that that person has been driving drunk," said Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley.
In 2001, 234 people died in car accidents involving alcohol in Massachusetts, about 49 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities, compared to a national average of 41 percent.
The rate of young drivers who had been drinking and were involved in fatal accidents in Massachusetts increased between 1998 and 2001, according to the report.
Nationally, there were 17,448 drunken driving deaths in 2001, up from 16,572 in 1999, the last time MADD conducted its "Rating the States" survey.
Massachusetts tied with Alaska, which also received a D-minus. One state, Montana, got an F.
The organization graded the nation with a C down from a C-plus in 1999. California ranking the highest with a B-plus.
The grading system is skewed against states that have existing tough drunken driving laws, said James Borghesani, spokesman for acting Gov. Jane Swift.
"The states that are trying to catch up with Massachusetts get good grades because they have a long way to go and are closing the gap between their lax drunk driving laws and Massachusetts' tough drunk driving laws," Borghesani said.
Swift filed a drunken-driving legislative package, including the bill mandating anyone with a high blood-alcohol level be automatically considered drunk. The legislation did not pass.
House Speaker Thomas Finneran said the bill could come up again in the new legislative session.
The grades are based on the number of alcohol-related crashes in each state, trends in the number of deaths, state laws on the books and enforcement efforts.
See MADD's detailed report on Massachusetts at:
http://www3.madd.org/laws/grades.cfm?StateGrade=MA
