AAA Southern New England - Public Affairs

• An Act Further Regulatiing Driver Education and Junior Operators' Licenses

• SJC Upholds Contested Provision Of Melanie's Law

• AAA Lauds Passage of Tougher Drunk Driving Law

• Melanie’s Bill: Detailed Summary of the Law

• Child Passenger Safety Legislation Will Go Before Lawmakers Once Again

• Towing Bill

An Act Further Regulating Driver Education and Junior Operators' Licenses

Minimum License/Permitting Age

Minimum age to obtain a learner’s permit remains 16 years
Minimum age to obtain a junior operator’s license remains 16 ½ years
Minimum requirements for first time licensees 18 years and older remain a learner’s permit and road test

Driver’s Ed Requirements

30 hours classroom instruction
12 hours on-road driving (up from 6 hours)
6 hours in-car observing
40 hours parent-supervised driving (up from 12 hours)
Requires parental participation in 2 hours instruction on driver’s ed. curriculum, but allows RMV to issue regs. on method of participation, only once every 5 years (this is new from current law)
Allows RMV to accept 30 hours parent-supervised driving if completed advanced driver training course.

Junior Operator Night Driving Restriction/Penalties

Night driving restriction begins at 12:30 (currently 12AM)

Status quo on primary vs. secondary enforcement

No driving 12:30 AM-5AM for duration of junior operator licensure, unless accompanied by parent/guardian
Primary enforcement 1AM-4AM

Increases night driving penalties
60-day license suspension for 1st offense
180 days for 2nd offense and required attitudinal retraining
1 year for subsequent offenses
Penalties are in addition to existing fine for operating unlicensed (currently between $100 and $200, increased in this bill to between $100 and $1000)

Junior Operator Passenger Restriction/Penalties

No passengers during first 6 months of licensure, other than immediate family members (current language/no change)
Increases penalties

60-day license suspension for 1st offense (currently 30 days)
180 days for 2nd offense and required attitudinal retraining (currently 60 days)
1 year for subsequent offenses (currently 90 days)

Learner’s Permit Driving Restrictions/Penalties

Prohibits driving under a learner’s permit unless accompanied by a licensed driver 21 or older with 1 year or more driving experience (current language/no change)
Also prohibits driving between 12AM and 5AM unless accompanied by parent or guardian who holds a valid license (current language/no change)

Punishes night driving violations and driving unaccompanied:

60-day permit suspension for 1st offense
180-day suspension for 2nd offense and completion of driver attitudinal retraining
1-year suspension for subsequent offenses
Penalties are in addition to existing fine for operating unlicensed (currently between $100 and $200, increased in this bill to between $100 and $1000)

Requires violators to reapply for learner’s permit before may obtain a license

RMV Notification to Parent

Requires RMV to send notification to parent or guardian of a junior operator or learner’s permit holder under age 18 for any c. 90 violation resulting in JOL or permit suspension

Requires that notice for 1st speeding offense contain information on penalties for 2nd offense
Junior Operator and Learner’s Permit Drag Racing Penalty

1st offense: 1-year license suspension and $250 fine and $500 license reinstatement fee (current is fine between $100 and $500 plus 30 day license suspension)
2nd or subsequent offense: 3-year license suspension and $500 fine and $1000 license reinstatement fee (current is fine between $200 and $1000 plus 180 day license suspension and 3rd or subsequent offense is fine between $200 and $1000 plus license suspension for 1 year)
Requires completion of SCARR program, driver attitudinal retraining course, and 2nd road test for license reinstatement for JOL offenders
Requires completion of SCARR program, driver attitudinal retraining course and reapplication for a learner’s permit before offender may apply for licensure

Learner’s Permit Speeding/Penalties

1st offense: minimum $50 fine, plus additional $10 for each mph in excess of 10 mph over posted speed limit, plus $50 surcharge (existing fine) and 90 day permit suspension (suspension is new)
2nd offense: same existing fine and 1-year permit suspension (suspension is new)
3rd or subsequent offense: same existing fine and 1-year permit suspension (current law is 3rd or subsequent within 12-month period: fine plus 30-day license suspension)

Reapplication for learner’s permit before individual may apply for licensure

Junior Operator Speeding/Penalties

1st offense: $50 fine, plus additional $10 fine for each mph exceeding 10 mph over speed limit, plus $50 surcharge (existing fine) and 90-day license suspension and completion of SCARR program (new penalty)
2nd offense: Fine plus 1-year suspension and completion of SCARR program (currently is fine plus 180-day license suspension)
Subsequent offenses: Fine plus 1-year suspension and completion of SCARR Program (SCARR program is new requirement)
Also requires a $500 reinstatement fee, completion of an attitudinal retraining course and 2nd road test for license reinstatement (currently $100 reinstatement fee)

Driving Negligently or Recklessly as a Junior Operator

Increases the minimum 1st offense license suspension for junior operators who drive negligently or recklessly to 180 days
Current law:

License revocation upon conviction for up to 60 days for 1st offense and up to 1 year for subsequent offenses within 3-year period
Fine between $20 and $200 or
Imprisonment from 2 weeks to 2 years
$250 assessment

Driver’s Education

Requires all driving schools to be licensed by the Registrar. This includes public and private high schools, including vocational and regional schools as well as driver’s ed. taught as part of continuing ed. programs
Allows the Registrar to impose a civil administrative penalty in addition to suspension, revocation or non-renewal of a driver school or program’s license for causes allowed

Requires the Registrar to establish regulations for the operation of driver schools and programs

Requires driver schools and programs to post a bond for the reimbursement of enrollees’ tuition should the license of a school or program be suspended or revoked before the completion of a paid course
Prohibits all public and private driver schools and programs from employing a person as a driving instructor who does not hold a valid driver’s license and instructor’s certificate
Directs the Registrar to develop standardized driver education curriculum to be used by all schools and programs
Directs the Registrar to develop and administer a standardized written test to students enrolled in driving schools and programs. The Registrar may use the results of such tests to issue driver education certificates and to measure curriculum compliance
Directs the Registrar to inspect programs and schools for compliance
Establishes Registrar’s oversight of driver skills development programs (advanced driver training courses)

Studies

Junior Operator Decals

Creates 13-member study commission on junior operator decals
Members: Registrar, Secretaries of Public Safety, Transportation, A&F, 3 reps, 3 senators, and 3 governor appointees representing AAA, a municipal police dept. and an expert in youth safety
Commission to convene by September 1, 2007
Reporting deadline: June 1, 2008

Drowsy Driving

Creates special commission on drowsy driving
Commission members: 3 reps (2 Democrats, 1 Republican), 3 senators (2 Democrats, 1 Republican), Secretary of EOT, Registrar, State Police, MA DA Assoc., MA Assoc. of Police Chiefs, and 3 governor appointees

Reporting deadline: Dec. 1, 2007

Effective Date

Enhanced driver’s ed. required for junior operator applicants after September 1, 2007
Enhanced driving penalties apply to violations committed after March 31, 2007

All other sections apply upon effective date of act
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SJC Upholds Contested Provision of Melanie's Law

The state's new law targeting repeat drunk drivers does not violate the constitutional due process rights of defendants, the state's highest court ruled on October 25, 2006. The court also ruled that it was proper to apply the tougher law to drunk driving cases pending when the law was signed on Oct. 28, 2005. The ruling upholds the ability of prosecutors to prove prior convictions through corroborating identifying information and public records rather than by presenting live witnesses.
Proponents of the so-called prior convictions language had argued that public records are sufficient to prove prior convictions for the purpose of determining whether defendants are repeat offenders. Critics of the language, which was added to the bill following a political uproar over its contents, had claimed that such records are not always reliable and that the
identities of individuals with the same names could be mistaken.
The court pointed out in its ruling that the new law expands the type of documents that can be used as proof of prior convictions by adding documents from jails or prisons and from the state Registry of Motor Vehicles to court records and certified copies of probation records featuring biographical and informational data. The ruling also points out an "apparent clerical error" in the drafting of Melanie's Law, noting that it appears to have mistakenly replaced a "completely different provision of the statute concerning the reinstatement of licenses by the registrar of motor vehicles."

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Boosting the Argument for a Primary Belt Law

AAA Southern New England Director of Government Relations Arthur Kinsman testified before the Massachusetts House of Representative earlier this year in support of a bill to enact a primary safety belt law. The House subsequently passed the bill and it is now before the state Senate. A primary law would allow police officers to issue a citation if they see an unbuckled driver or passenger. Currently, Massachusetts has secondary enforcement, which means an officer can only issue a safety-belt citation if the vehicle is stopped for another violation. As Mr. Kinsman pointed out, safety belts are the single most effective way to protect motorists and their passengers. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans ages 3 to 33.

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AAA Lauds Passage of Tougher Drunk Driving Law

Photo by Berta A. Daniels
Governor Mitt Romney signs Melanie's Bill into law. To the right of the Governor are Melanie's parents and grandfather.

AAA Southern New England recently joined Governor Mitt Romney, legislators, and victims of drunk driving to witness the signing of “Melanie’s Bill,” which is the first major revamping of Massachusetts’ drunk driving laws since the .08 Blood Alcohol Limit and Administrative License Revocation was passed in 1994.
Two years ago, 13-year-old Melanie Powell was struck and killed by a repeat offender drunk driver as she walked with a friend near the beach in Marshfield. AAA Southern New England joined forces with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to lobby hard for passage of a comprehensive set of laws that target repeat drunk drivers. Perhaps there were no greater advocates for the law than Melanie’s family, Tod and Nancy Powell, and her grandfather, Ron Bersani.
“Without Ron Bersani’s relentless lobbying, this bill would not be law,” said Art Kinsman, Director of Government Affairs for AAA Southern New England. “Mr. Bersani and the Powells have done a great service to the Commonwealth by taking the pain of their tragedy and allowing it to be used to make the roads safer.”
The law requires repeat offenders to have ignition interlocking devices installed in their vehicles, forcing them to blow into a breath test machine before the car will start. The bill also significantly increases the license suspension penalties for a variety of repeat offenses and mandates an alcohol assessment for anyone with a blood alcohol level of .15 or above. It creates a new crime of child endangerment by operating under the influence to be enforced when transporting anyone 14 or under, and mandates a 24-hour vehicle impoundment for drivers who refuse the breath test.
The legislative conference committee, which was charged with working out the differences between the Senate and weaker House versions of the bill, stripped the bill of a few major provisions, and sent it on to Governor Romney for approval. In a stunning reversal rarely seen at the Statehouse, Governor Romney refused to sign the bill and sent it back to the legislature with the provisions restored, most notably, a section allowing certified court records to be proof of prior convictions, rather than the current system where prosecutors must produce original witnesses or arresting officers.
With public and media scrutiny mounting, and Melanie’s family threatening to take her name off the bill, the legislature restored two of the three provisions and the bill became what the governor described as a “95 percent” success. The other restored item was an increase of the mandatory minimum jail sentence for any individual found guilty of manslaughter by motor vehicle to five years. Notable legislative advocates were both the Powell family’s legislators, Rep. Frank Hynes (D-Marshfield) and Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth), as well as Transportation Committee Chairman Sen. Stephen Baddour (D-Methuen), and House Minority Leader Bradley Jones (R-North Reading).
At the bill signing, however, the gathering was reminded of the real people who have been killed or injured by repeat drunk drivers. Mr. Bersani read from his granddaughter’s journal, a passage about the day she found the meaning of “beautiful,” as she wrote of sitting in her backyard appreciating her good life and her nice surroundings, especially the warm soft breezes that blew across her yard. Melanie had told her grandmother her goal in life was to be a guardian angel.
“Today there is a warm breeze blowing in Massachusetts, and we know where it comes from, for today a little girl starts her dream job,” said Mr. Bersani.

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