Unique Massachusetts State Laws For Seniors and Teen Drivers ?

by harringtola | February 4, 2010 at 05:21 pm

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In May of 2009 a 24 year old trolley driver admitted to TEXTng while driving which caused the collision of two MBTA trains near Government Center in Boston where dozens were hurt.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said the driver rear-ended another westbound trolley while it was waiting at a red light at 7:18 p.m.

One hundred people were on the trains at the time.

Some riders were able to walk out of the station on their own. Others were taken out on stretchers. Many were bruised and bloody.

As a result there have been tough job related consequences for drivers applied to drivers of MBTA vehicles for using a cell phone in any fashion while operating a motor vehicle as a driver for the MBTA and in some cases these job related consequences apply to employees riding along with a driver but not driving or operating a vehicle.

Public outrage related to recent TEXTing while driving incidents has been raised to the level of lawmaker visibility. This along with other perceived avoidable driving problems are currently being debated in the state house in respect to solutions.

BOSTON (AP) - House lawmakers are debating a bill designed to crack down on distracted drivers in Massachusetts.

The bill being considered Thursday would ban texting while driving and prohibit the use of cell phones by drivers under 18.

It also requires vision tests for drivers over 75 and allows doctors to report to the Registry of Motor Vehicles the names of patients they feel can no longer safely drive.

The legislation responds to growing public anger about a surge in the number of drivers taking their eyes off the road to send or receive text messages.

Supporters say the teen cell ban is important because new drivers can't afford to be distracted while operating a car.

Critics of the proposal for vision tests say the measure doesn't go far enough to curb accidents involving elderly drivers.

The additional scrutiny of seniors is based on a perceived increase in seniors having difficulty with reflexes or appropriate responses to the need to act quickly.

Currently Massachusetts has a 5 year renewal cycle with a vision test. No special requirements for older drivers (Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination by reason of age for licensing issues.)

Relevant or not, some news outlets have reported that there are now questions as to how many elderly drivers who had recent accidents where they accelerated inappropriately were driving a Toyota.

Additional considerations for TEXTing and cell phone bans are to include commercial vehicle drivers such as buses or trains or medical vans etc.