Bill > S2214

This bill aims to reduce traffic fatalities by making several changes to existing laws: 1. It requires motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds purchased or leased by the Commonwealth to be equipped with lateral protective devices, convex mirrors, and crossover mirrors to improve visibility and protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. 2. It increases the required passing distance for vehicles overtaking vulnerable road users to at least 3 feet at 30 mph or less, with an additional foot of clearance for every 10 mph above 30 mph. 3. It allows the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to establish reduced speed limits in active construction zones without an engineering study, with doubled fines for speeding violations. 4. It mandates a 25 mph speed limit on state highways and parkways in thickly settled or business districts in towns that have accepted this provision. 5. It requires the development of a standardized form for reporting crashes and incidents involving motor vehicles and vulnerable road users, with the data maintained in a publicly accessible database. The bill provides some exemptions and delayed implementation timelines for certain provisions to allow for an adjustment period.

Budget and Finance

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S2214