Baker-Polito Administration Refiles Legislation to Improve Roadway Safety and Combat Impaired Driving
“Trooper Thomas Clardy Law” advances proven
measures to prevent the senseless tragedies caused by drug-impaired driving
WORCESTER — The Baker-Polito Administration today refiled legislation to improve safety on the Commonwealth’s roadways and combat drug-impaired driving. This proposal would update road safety laws by implementing uniform standards and promoting proven strategies to reduce motor vehicle crashes, and will implement recommendations made by the Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving.
The bill, refiled by the Administration as the
“Trooper Thomas Clardy Law,” honors Massachusetts State Trooper Thomas L.
Clardy. On March 16, 2016, Trooper Clardy was conducting a traffic stop
on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton when his parked cruiser was hit by a
speeding motorist who swerved across three lanes of traffic. THC, the
psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, was detected in the motorist’s blood.
This preventable crime resulted in the tragic and untimely death of
44-year-old Trooper Clardy, an 11-year member of the state police and a United
States Marine Corps veteran. He is survived by his wife and six children. The bill’s
refiling this week coincides with the two-year mark since the conviction of the
driver in the case.
“This legislation aims to make the
Commonwealth’s roads safer and save lives, and we are grateful to the Clardy
family for offering their family’s name and support for this legislation, which
will help us avoid impaired driving incidents in the future,” said
Governor Charlie Baker. “This bill will provide law enforcement
officers with more rigorous drug detection training and will strengthen the
legal process by authorizing the courts to acknowledge that the active
ingredient in marijuana can and does impair motorists. The bill draws on
thoughtful recommendations from a broad cross-section of stakeholders, and we
look forward to working with our legislative colleagues to pass this bill and
make our roads safer."
“Our administration is refiling this
legislation as part of our steadfast commitment to safeguarding our roadways
and protecting the people of the Commonwealth from preventable crimes,” said
Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “With the continued implementation of adult-use
marijuana in the Commonwealth, it is vital that we continue to focus on efforts
to both combat drugged driving and raise awareness about the dangers of
operating while under the influence.”
First filed in 2019, this legislation is based
on recommendations issued by a Special Commission on Operating Under the
Influence and Impaired Driving, which was created as part of the 2017 law
legalizing adult-use marijuana, to develop a series of recommendations to
mitigate the negative impacts of increased marijuana use in Massachusetts,
including the anticipated increase of impaired driving. The Special Commission
included a diverse cadre of experts in policing, prosecution, the criminal
defense bar, medicine and toxicology, and civil liberties. The Special
Commission’s report outlined recommendations that require legislative changes
and promote consistency with state law on alcohol use and driving.
“Our family has been profoundly impacted by
the tragic loss of my loving husband. Our children lost their hero, a man who
had love for his family and an unquenchable love for life,” said Reisa
Clardy, widow of Trooper Clardy. “We wholeheartedly support the
implementation of these critical measures to improve public safety in the hope
of sparing other families from our sorrow and preventing the heartbreak caused
by a driver’s decision to get behind the wheel when under the influence of
drugs.”
“It’s simple: you can’t drive safely when you
are impaired. This legislation will improve community safety and advance good
criminal justice policy by ensuring our ability to offer the public the same
protections whether a driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” said
Secretary of Public Safety and Security Terrence Reidy.
“The provisions of this legislation will be
important tools to law enforcement officers to enhance interdiction of drugged
drivers and reflect a necessary evolution in our criminal laws to recognize and
address the significant dangers of drivers who are under the influence of
narcotics,” said Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent,
Massachusetts State Police.
“It is imperative that police have the
training and tools necessary to effectively combat drugged driving,” said
Brian Kyes, Chelsea Police Chief and President of the Massachusetts Major City
Chiefs Association. “This legislation will equip law enforcement with
drug recognition experts to address the dangers of impaired driving and to
improve road safety across Massachusetts.”
“Life can change in the blink of an eye and,
because of impaired drivers, it often tragically does. To prevent these
tragedies, we must do everything we can to keep impaired drivers off the
roads,” said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. “This
legislation is a great step to making our roads safer for all our loved ones
who use them. It will better address the issue of impairment in the courtroom
and, ideally, avert a tragedy before it happens.”
“AAA Northeast applauds the Baker-Polito
Administration for filing this legislation, which would make the roadways of
the Commonwealth much safer. Impaired driving accounts for roughly a
third of roadway deaths across the county, and the numbers are climbing.
We also welcome the opportunity to honor Trooper Thomas Clardy and his family
in the naming of this bill.” said Mary Maguire, Director of Public and
Government Affairs for AAA Northeast.
“The work of the Special Commission on
Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving started with the basic
premise that you don’t, under any circumstances, drive better when you are
impaired,” said Shawn Collins, Executive Director of the Cannabis
Control Commission and Chair of the Special Commission. “The Baker-Polito
Administration’s legislation seeks safer roadways throughout the Commonwealth
by implementing the Special Commission’s findings and empowering the public
with expanded resources to prevent the risks of driving under the influence of
any intoxicating substance.”
The Special Commission’s 2019 report contained
a series of recommendations, many of them unanimous among the experts and
stakeholders, to improve how Massachusetts combats operating under the
influence. The proposed adjustments encompass the entire process leading up to,
during and following a motor vehicle stop for suspected driving under the
influence. Many of the Special Commission’s 19 recommendations require
legislative changes, which are reflected in “An Act Implementing the
Recommendations of the Special Commission on Operating under the Influence and
Impaired Driving” otherwise known as the “Trooper Thomas Clardy Law.”
The proposed legislative changes in this
refiled bill include:
- Adopting implied consent laws to suspend the driver’s
licenses of arrested motorists who refuse to cooperate in chemical testing
for drugs, as existing law has long required for arrested motorists who
refuse breath testing for alcohol;
- Adopting a statute authorizing courts to take judicial
notice that ingesting THC, the active chemical in marijuana, can and does
impair motorists;
- Directing the Municipal Police Training Committee
(MPTC) to expand the training of drug recognition experts, and allowing
them to testify as expert witnesses in civil and criminal cases;
- Prohibiting drivers from having loose or unsealed
packages of marijuana in the driver’s compartment of a vehicle, under the
same provision of the motor vehicle code that has long prohibited driving
with open containers of alcohol;
- Recognizing the effectiveness of the horizontal gaze
nystagmus test, shown through scientific research to be the single most
reliable field sobriety test;
- Empowering police officers to seek electronic search
warrants for evidence of chemical intoxication, as is the practice in over
thirty other states. Any blood draw would have to be authorized by a
neutral magistrate after a showing of probable cause, and would be
performed by a doctor, nurse or other appropriate medical staff at a
health care facility;
- Developing educational materials and programming on
drug impairment to share with trial court judges.
Recent data released by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that traffic fatalities
have reached a 15-year high in the first six months of 2021. More than 20,000
people have died in motor vehicle crashes so far this year. The NHTSA
attributes this alarming trend to an increase in risky behavior, including
driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Indeed, NHTSA’s recent
review of five trauma centers, including one in Worcester,
Massachusetts, found a significant increase in the prevalence of drugs detected
in seriously and fatally injured drivers with 56% testing positive for at least
one impairing substance, up from 50.8% before the public health emergency.
According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, THC, marijuana’s principal active ingredient, impairs
coordination, judgment, and balance – the skills every operator needs to drive
safely. A February 2020 survey conducted by Mothers
Against Drunk Driving found that 1 in 8 (12%) of adults admitted to driving
within two hours of consuming marijuana.
