BAY STATE DRIVER DEATHS ON RISE
The death toll on Bay State roads surged to nearly 400 people last year after the largest numerical increase in deadly crashes of any state in the Northeast, fueling cries to tighten what critics call Massachusetts’ lax seat belt and distracted-driving laws.
Forty-four more people perished in crashes on Bay State roads last year than in 2015, a spike that eclipsed that of every other New England state and traffic-heavy New Jersey or New York, where deaths actually dropped, according to newly released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
“When I hear that data and I hear that deaths have increased, it tells me there’s a correlation,” said state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, a Franklin Democrat who’s pushed to beef up state law by allowing police to stop drivers for not wearing a seat belt.
“I believe the state has a legitimate role in making the roads safer,” Roy said. “We have to do a better job of getting more people buckled in.”
With the proliferation of smartphones, distracted drivers and more motorists in general, traffic deaths are on the rise nationwide, jumping about 6 percent. But with 389 deaths in 2016, the 13 percent spike in Massachusetts more than doubled the national rate.
Among New England states, only New Hampshire, at 19 percent, had a larger percentage increase of death. Rhode Island, like Massachusetts, also jumped 13 percent.
But while the feds didn’t release a state-by-state breakdown of the miles drivers traveled — an indicator of how busy roadways are — Massachusetts in 2015 logged fewer miles than both New York and New Jersey.
Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, in briefing the MassDOT board Monday, noted the jump represented “almost one additional death a week” in the state.
“Nothing we can be proud of,” she said bluntly, “or would want to continue.”
The country’s “biggest killers,” according to state highway safety director Jeff Larason, are also rising here. Those killed in drunken-driving crashes, speeding or while not wearing a seat belt all eclipsed 100 deaths last year, with the 106 “un-belted” deaths marking a 20 percent jump alone.
Larason pointed to distracted driving as another primary factor, even if the official number of “distraction-affected” fatalities declined nationally and in Massachusetts, from 68 to 45. Generally, that number is “significantly” under-reported, he said, given the difficulty proving to what extent a driver may have been texting, glancing at a GPS or checking another app before a fatal crash.
Massachusetts is on an evershrinking roster of states still without a so-called “hands-free” law, with Rhode Island this past summer joining Bay State neighbors Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York in banning cellphone use while driving.
The state Senate passed a bill in June barring drivers from using hand-held devices while driving, imposing fines of $100 or more on offenders. A similar effort died in the House last session.
Various hands-free bills have long faced criticisms of being a “nanny state” proposal, or trying to legislate decision-making. Renewed efforts on a seat belt bill have faced similar complaints, in addition to worries about racial profiling.
Just last week, the chairman of the Legislature’s public safety committee lamented that the panel would “get hammered” if it recommended passing Roy’s bill, according to the State House News Service.
Currently, police can only issue a seat-belt violation if they pull a driver over for a different offense. Meanwhile, in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, seat belt violations can alone draw a traffic stop.