BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts lawmakers announced a new, statewide initiative to combat wrong-way driving and improve roadway safety on Wednesday.
The $75-million detection and prevention program includes advanced detection technology, enhanced roadway signage, infrastructure improvements, and targeted safety upgrades across Massachusetts. New signs with flashing lights were installed at 400 locations across the state, as well as high-tech sensors that alert police where the wrong-way drivers are located in real time.
“People shouldn’t drive drunk, they shouldn’t drive distracted. They put other people’s lives at risk,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. “Wrong-way driving should never happen. Every driver on the road should be vigilant, should be alert.”
Officials said the new alert system is already paying off. On Wednesday morning, video captured a wrong-way driver in Danvers turning around after being alerted by the flashing lights at the Route 35 off ramp by Route 128.
“Every wrong-way driver who turns around safely is a success. Again, first and foremost, prevention is what we are trying to do,” said Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT Undersecretary of Transportation.
The announcement comes after several deadly wrong-way crashes around the Commonwealth. Most recently, the death of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, who was killed in a head-on, wrong-way crash in Lynnfield last month.
In 2024, Endicott College Police Sgt. Jeremy Cole was also killed by a wrong-way driver while he was on his way home from work. Last year, a recent high school graduate in Gloucester was also killed by a wrong-way driver.
“No family should have to endure what the Trainor family, and other families that are here today, have experienced,” said Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble. “Together, through partnership, vigilance, and a shared committment to safety, we can prevent these tragedies from happening again.”
“We’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact that wrong-way driving crashes can have on families, law enforcement, and communities across Massachusetts,” Healey said. “People deserve to be safe on our roads, and we’re taking action. By investing in new technology, stronger safety measures and targeted infrastructure improvements, we’re working to prevent these crashes before they happen and help save lives. Our hearts are with every family that has lost a loved one in a wrong-way driving crash, and we are committed to doing everything we can to prevent these tragedies from happening again.”
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