"For at least the seventh consecutive legislative session, lawmakers and driving safety advocates on Tuesday morning asked legislators to give police the ability to pull over and ticket drivers if anyone in the car is not wearing a seat belt, citing the state’s 46th-in-the-nation ranking for seat belt usage and the promise of saving lives.
For years, plans to stiffen penalties under the state’s seat belt law have buckled in the face of racial profiling and privacy considerations. Under the current law, police officers in Massachusetts can only issue a ticket for a violation of the seat belt law if they pull the driver over for another offense.
State Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, and state Sen. Paul Feeney, D-Foxborough, filed legislation that would increase the fines for seat-belt violations and would make the violation a primary offense, for which police can stop drivers.
The bill, which has nine co-sponsors, would see drivers and passengers over age 16 fined $50 for not wearing seat belts. The driver would be charged an additional $50 for each passenger between the ages of 12 and 16 who were not wearing belts."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20191022/franklin-rep-roy-behind-legislation-to-increase-fines-for-seat-belt-violations
"The Millis Select Board moved the plastic bag ban initiative forward as an article for voting at the next town meeting Nov. 4.
The bylaw will eliminate single-use plastic bags in Millis, similar to the 122 other towns that have passed carry-out bag ban legislation.
Newspaper bags, dry cleaner bags, vegetable bags without handles, bags used for packaging meat and fish and brown paper bags will not be affected."
https://franklin.wickedlocal.com/news/20191021/millis-plastic-bag-ban-to-be-voted-on-nov-4
From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:
"An incident at Franklin High School caused brief panic for parents, students, and faculty on Tuesday afternoon.
An email was sent to parents of Franklin Schools by superintendent, Sara Ahern and Franklin High School principal, Paul Peri, outlining the incident.
According to the email, “A parent came into the office to share a text message she received from her child saying that he/she overheard another student talking about something occurring in the cafeteria at 12:15 and that students should get under their tables.”
Police swiftly identified the student in question and removed the individual from the building. Due to the fact the student was identified so quickly and a timely response from Franklin Police, the administration felt a lockdown was not necessary."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171010/police-investigate-incident-at-franklin-high
The notification from Superintendent Sara Ahern can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/10/important-message-from-superintendent.html
"Police officers and transportation safety experts called on lawmakers to finally throw their support behind a long-stalled bill that would allow police officers to stop drivers for not wearing a seat belt, but the Legislature appears to be proceeding with caution amid concerns about profiling.
“As we all know, wearing a seat belt is the single best defense against injuries and deaths in a car crash,” Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr, a public health expert on the National Transportation Safety Board, said. “We know seat belts are a lifesaving technology, we know a primary seat belt law will increase seat belt use, and increased seat belt use will save lives and prevent injuries.”
For years, plans to stiffen penalties under the state’s seat belt law have buckled in the face of racial profiling and privacy considerations. Under the current law, police officers in Massachusetts can only issue a ticket for a violation of the seat belt law if they pull the driver over for another offense."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20171010/roy-pushes-for-seat-belt-legislation
The Franklin Police Department, in partnership with the Highway Safety Division of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, the Massachusetts State Police, and more than 200 Massachusetts police departments, will take part in the national Click It or Ticket campaign between May 9th and May 23rd. This high-visibility enforcement campaign will promote seat belt use through increased traffic enforcement. The campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“Our goal is to save lives,” said Deputy Chief Thomas Lynch. “As we kick-off the busy summer driving season, it is crucial that all motorists buckle up every time they go out, day and night – no excuses. Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt, including drivers who have neglected to properly buckle their children.”
 |
| Franklin Police |
The national seat belt usage rate is 88.5% (NHTSA). Massachusetts is falling behind at 74%, with a 3% reduction in usage rate between 2014 and 2015.
In Massachusetts, many fatally injured occupants are unbuckled. According to NHTSA, in 2014, nearly half of the 21,022 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes across the country were unrestrained.
“While these may just sound like statistics, local police know from personal experience that those numbers represent mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and friends in Franklin,” said Jeff Larason, Director of the Highway Safety Division. “If we increase our seat belt usage rate, we save lives, and that’s why the police are out enforcing this important law.”
As part of the Click It or Ticket mobilization, at 6:00 pm on May 23rd, state and local police departments including Franklin will join law enforcement agencies across the East Coast in mobilizing the “Border to Border” Operation. This initiative provides increased seat belt enforcement at state borders, sending a ‘zero tolerance’ message to the public: driving or riding unbuckled will result in a ticket, no matter what state, no matter what time.
- This was shared from the Franklin Police Department
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_PoliceNews/023D9ABF-000F8513.0/May2016TrafficCampaign.pdf
