BOSTON (WHDH) - Gov. Charlie Baker joined city and state officials to propose a series of legislative changes aimed at strengthening the state’s impaired driving laws and raising awareness about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Baker was joined by public safety advocates Keith Cooper, President of the Cannabis Dispensary Association, and Colleen Sheehey Church, the Public Policy Liaison for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, in support of this legislation, as well as the Cannabis Control Board, Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee, and State Police officials.
“Driving impaired is both illegal and dangerous, and represents a significant threat to public safety,” Baker said in a statement. “In addition to working with public safety officials to enforce existing impaired driving laws, our Administration has also introduced legislation that will equalize the treatment of alcohol and drugs with respect to driving under the influence, and give law enforcement more tools and resources to keep our roads safe.”
The Administration’s bill is based on recommendations made by the Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving. The Special Commission is composed of a diverse set of stakeholders and experts, including police, prosecutors, medical and toxicological professionals, and representatives of the criminal defense bar and civil liberties community.
The proposed legislative changes in the bill include:
- Adopting implied consent laws to suspend the driver’s licenses of arrested motorists who refuse to cooperate in chemical testing for drugs, as existing law has long required for arrested motorists who refuse breath testing for alcohol.
Adopting a statute authorizing courts to take judicial notice that ingesting THC, the active chemical in marijuana, can and does impair motorists. - Directing the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) to expand the training of drug recognition experts and allowing them to testify as expert witnesses in civil and criminal cases.
- Prohibiting drivers from having loose or unsealed packages of marijuana in the driver’s compartment of a vehicle, under the same provision of the motor vehicle code that has long prohibited driving with open containers of alcohol.
Recognizing the effectiveness of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, shown through scientific research to be the single most reliable field sobriety test. - Empowering police officers to seek electronic search warrants for evidence of chemical intoxication, as is the practice in over thirty other states. Any blood draw would have to be authorized by a neutral magistrate after a showing of probable cause, and would be performed by a doctor, nurse or other appropriate medical staff at a health care facility.
- Developing educational materials and programming on drug impairment to share with trial court judges.
Today’s event is part of an innovative partnership between public and private organizations to educate cannabis users about the impact of driving under the influence of marijuana. The effort will include the distribution of educational material at both recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries – a collaborative project undertaken by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, AAA and the Commonwealth Dispensary Association.
Massachusetts Data On Impaired Driving:
- Marijuana was the most prevalent drug (aside from alcohol) found in drivers involved in fatal crashes from 2013-2017. It was found in 30 percent of drivers that had drugs in their system at the time of crash
- From 2013-2017, 11 percent of drivers in fatal crashes were found with both alcohol and drugs in their system
- From 2016 to 2017, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities (BAC .08 or higher) declined 19 percent from 148 to 120.
- From 2013-2017, men accounted for 78 percent of alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes
- From 2013-2017, drivers aged 21-34 accounted for 48 percent of all alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes
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