BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Senate voted unanimously Thursday to approve a bill that would allow a budget to expand systems that detect and warn wrong-way drivers to help cut down on deadly wrong-way crashes in the state.
Republican Minority Leader Bruce Tarr introduced the bill to expand on a recent pilot program testing high-tech systems to detect wrong-way drivers, along with more visible signage and road markings to keep drivers on the right track. He said the bill had already been in the works, but recent tragedies sped up the process to make change.
“This is a deadly situation. It leads to tragic consequences, but it’s something we can do something about,” Tarr said.
It was an emotional day as state leaders and residents who have lost loved ones to wrong-way accidents gathered at the State House. The vote came just weeks after Massachusetts State Police trooper Kevin Trainor was killed in a wrong-way crash in Lynnfield on May 6, one of many tragic stories that spurred action from lawmakers.
“This isn’t a magic wand. We can’t just snap our fingers and say ‘this is never going to happen again,’ but we can embrace technology. We can embrace smart policy,” said Senator Paul Feeney, (D) Bristol-Norfolk.
Among those looking in on the chamber was Endicott College Police Chief Kerry Ramsdell, whose Sergeant Jeremy Cole was killed by a wrong-way driver in Newbury while he was driving home the night before Thanksgiving in 2024.
The parents of Christopher Dailey, the 18-year-old Gloucester High School graduate who was killed by a wrong-way driver last summer, were also in attendance.
“Every ramp that goes unprotected is a risk that someone else’s Kevin Trainor, someone else’s Jeremy Cole, and someone else’s Christopher Dailey will lose their lives,” said Senator Joan Lovely, (D) Essex.
Dailey’s mother said she is grateful the bill was passed by the Senate.
“I’m so grateful to everybody,” said Nicole Dailey, Christopher Dailey’s mother. “It’s just senseless. It doesn’t need to happen. And now we can move forward and make sure nobody else has to go through this.”
The bill will now go to the House, and if passed, to Governor Maura Healey’s desk.
Despite voting on the bill still being in progress, Tarr told 7NEWS that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is moving now to implement some of the new technology around the state.
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