Bill > H5103

This bill aims to reduce traffic fatalities in the state of Massachusetts. The key provisions include: 1. Requiring motor vehicles over 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight rating that are leased or purchased by the state to be equipped with lateral protective devices, convex mirrors, crossover mirrors, and backup cameras to improve visibility and protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. 2. Establishing a mandatory 3-foot passing distance when a motor vehicle is passing a vulnerable user, with an additional 1 foot of clearance for every 10 mph above 30 mph. 3. Allowing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to establish speed limits in active construction zones without an engineering study, with doubled fines for speeding violations in these zones. 4. Mandating a 25 mph speed limit on state highways and parkways inside thickly settled or business districts in cities and towns that have accepted this provision. 5. Requiring the development of a standardized form to report crashes and incidents involving motor vehicles and vulnerable users, and the creation of a public database for these reports. 6. Directing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to study the direct vision performance of vehicles subject to the new equipment requirements and provide recommendations on minimum acceptable direct vision levels.

House Committee on Ways and Means (H)

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H5103