With Roadway Fatalities High, Gov. Baker Looks To Increase Safety

Last year, despite a major decrease in traffic, Massachusetts saw 334 roadway deaths. According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation(MassDOT), many of those deaths were the cause of excessive speed or erratic driving.

On Monday, Governor Charlie Baker filed a bill to improve safety on our roadways across the state, according to Mass.Gov. With COVID numbers on the wane, more and more people will be out in their vehicles and Governor Baker thinks it's time to improve road safety.

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Monday's bill filed by Baker attempts to address that by fining drivers for not wearing their seatbelts, increasing the number of police officers patrolling the roads, and adding red-light cameras.

Governor Baker said as part of a statement Monday:

The bill addresses all forms of travel, motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Most importantly, it will keep Massachusetts safe and ensure that fewer travelers are killed.

The bill, entitled, “An Act Relative to Improving Safety on the Roads of the Commonwealth", would also expand several of the driving laws that are currently in place including the hands-free law, and Haley’s Law which imposes harsh penalties for residents that drive with a suspended license.

The bill would also include proposals on new and previously filed topics. Just some of what's covered:

Traffic Camera Enforcement Local Option: allows localities to place red light cameras at intersections
Bicycle Safe Passing: requires a driver to maintain a 3 foot "safe passing distance" and to travel at a speed that is proper when passing a bicyclist or pedestrian when there isn't any physical separation
Side Guards and Additional Mirrors: required all Commonwealth-owned and operated vehicles over 10,000 pounds to have side guards, convex mirrors, and cross-over mirrors

There is much more to the story. Check it out at mass.gov's website here. Gov. Baker’s bill will need to be approved by the legislature before it can take effect.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.