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We have been practicing law in Boston and throughout Massachusetts since 1985. I have represented clients in District Courts, Superior Courts, the Appeals Court, Housing Court, Probate Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Federal District Court.
The summer months in the Northeast bring out the bicyclists in full force on trails and city streets. Unfortunately, it also means tragic accidents when motorists and bicyclists share the roadways. One such fatal accident occurred in Chicopee this July when a woman in her 70s was struck and killed on Fuller Road near St. Patrick’s Cemetery during the morning commute. The only details of the accident released by police were that the cyclist and a car collided, and that the decedent was not wearing a helmet.
Construction zones are notorious for being the scene of car accidents in Massachusetts. And if road or other construction is occurring in a stretch of road already known to locals as particularly susceptible to accidents, then that road becomes even more dangerous. This is true not only for motorists but for construction workers who must have safeguards in place to alert motorists to slow down.
An astonishing lack of oversight of out-of-state license violations that have sat for over a year or more has led the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) to implement an en masse suspension of drivers licenses. Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack had gathered to announce the action earlier this summer once the backlog was discovered. An external audit of the department was also announced and that all Massachusetts driver licenses will be checked against a national driver registry for other out-of-state violations that could lead to additional suspensions.
In late July of this year, a rollover accident at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Center Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, left one motorist with serious injuries. The accident occurred around 10:00 am when a Lincoln MKZ proceeding east down Columbus Avenue collided with a Hyundai Elantra that was traveling north on Center Street. The Lincoln struck a secondary curb after the collision and rolled over on its side, pinning the driver and his passenger inside. First responders had to use mechanical means to extricate the driver who was transported to Berkshire Medical Center with serious but stable injuries. His passenger and the driver of the Hyundai suffered only minor injuries.
Police were still investigating and had not determined the cause of the accident.
In another effort to alert Massachusetts motorists of the need to buckle up, the Massachusetts Highway Safety Division recently launched a new safety campaign called “Love Clicks. Buckle Up.” For some reason, Massachusetts has lagged far behind the rest of the nation in wearing seatbelts. The national average for wearing seat belts has been around 90% for several years. Massachusetts is one of the worst states when it comes to motorists buckling up and currently has a 81.6% rate for wearing a seat belt. Our sister state, New Hampshire, is dead last at 73% as it is the only state in the nation that does not require adults 18 and over to wear seat belts.