Massachusetts Falls Short Fighting Drunken Driving

November 17, 2010

The National Transportation Safety Board is faulting Massachusetts for not doing enough to combat what they call “hardcore” drunken drivers.

The NTSB said Massachusetts is among 10 states in the country that have adopted four or fewer of 11 drunken driving strategies recommended by the federal transportation agency.

The NTSB defines a hardcore drunken driver as a driver with either a prior arrest for drunken driving or who registers a blood alcohol content of .15 percent of greater, nearly twice the legal limit in Massachusetts.

In 2005, Massachusetts adopted “Melanie’s Law” which imposes new safeguards to keep repeat offenders off the road, including in-car breath tests.

Last year, 7,607 of the 10,839 people killed in alcohol related traffic accidents in the U.S. involved hardcore drunken drivers.

Topics Personal Auto Massachusetts

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Latest Comments

  • November 19, 2010 at 3:55 am
    observer says:
    I agree. It's all about revenue. Those who can afford the legal fees can get around the "conviction", therefore, avoiding the consequences. Pitiful. Where's the ethics in t... read more
  • November 17, 2010 at 6:37 am
    wudchuck says:
    sounds to me like that legislature is having a few extra drinks on the house! how many times does it take to see that we need these folks off the road? how many times do we al... read more
  • November 17, 2010 at 3:34 am
    Jeff says:
    Many State Reps and State Senators in MA have a vested interest in the system since they represent people accused of DUI (including my current State Senator, who is part of th... read more

Add a CommentSee All Comments (4)Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

More News
More News Features