SAFETY FIRST! Safe Driving Bill Hearing and Press Conference Set for TOMORROW, March 5 Diverse groups support bill that would ensure all Massachusetts drivers are tested, licensed and insured WHAT: Press-Conference Supporting Safe Driving Bill, followed by hearing before Joint Transportation Committee WHERE: In front of Wolcott Statue, outside House Chambers Massachusetts State House, Third Floor WHEN: Wednesday, March 5, 11:30 AM WHO: Speakers for the March 5 press conference include (CORRECTED): Senator Patricia Jehlen and Representative Tricia Farley Bouvier, Bill Sponsors Natalicia Tracy, Executive Director, Brazilian Immigrant Center and Cristina Aguilera, Organizing Director, MIRA Coalition, co-MCs Lisa A. Wong, Mayor, City of Fitchburg Sergeant Glenn Fossa, Fitchburg Police Department William Joyce, former U.S. Immigration Judge Ronnie Millar, Executive Director, Irish International Immigrant Center Carly McClain, mother and Lynn resident Valdirene Oliveira, mother and Brazilian Womens Group member BOSTON — On Wednesday March 5 at 11:30 AM, representatives of a coalition of 50 organizations from across Massachusetts will speak in support of The Safe Driving Bill at a State House press conference. The press conference takes place shortly before the Joint Transportation Committee meets at 1 p.m. to hear public testimony on the Safe Driving Bill in Room B2 . Speakers at the press conference will explain how every Massachusetts resident benefits from this legislation, which would ensure that all Massachusetts drivers are tested, licensed and insured. By removing immigration status as a barrier to applying for a learners permit and taking a driving test, the Safe Driving Bill would reduce both accidents and costs, said State Senator Patricia Jehlen, the lead Senate sponsor of the Bill. Not only would roads become safer, police and other officials who monitor our roads and highways would be able to focus on that safety first and foremost.” Julia Koehler, M.D., of Clinicians for Healthy Families, adds, Parents taking their children to medical appointments often have no choice but to drive, and currently they have to decide whether they should risk arrest for driving without a license, or whether they should neglect their child’s medical needs. Either side of this decision is deeply harmful to the child and to the parents, and at present there are families all over the state who are making one or the other of these decisions. This is wrong and there is a solution for it: the Safe Driving Bill. I am testifying before the committee because the Safe Driving Bill would greatly enhance road safety, to better protect me and my children, said Carly McClain, a mother whose family car was struck by an uninsured and unlicensed driver. If the gentleman who hit my car had been able to apply for a license, he might have then passed a road test that would have made him a safer driver, and carried insurance that would have reimbursed me for my deductible. States from Illinois and Colorado to our neighbors Connecticut and Vermont have passed laws to disentangle immigration policy from road safety. Its time for our state to do the same by passing our own Safe Driving Bill. The Safe Driving Bill… Saves Lives – By increasing traffic law knowledge, the Safe Driving Bill would reduce fatal road accidents and flight from accidents (and it would help first responders identify accident victims) Saves Police Time and Resources – By reducing unlicensed driving, the Safe Driving Bill would free police to focus on their top priority, PUBLIC SAFETY. Saves Court Resources — The bill would reduce the black market for false licenses, and reduce the number of people who appear for driving without licenses. Deals with road safety and NOTHING else— This bill is practical. It does NOT give access to benefits; it does not give anyone a right to vote or work authorization. Increases Compliance with Mandatory Insurance Requirements – the Safe Driving Bill would require all motorists to have mandatory liability insurance. As a result, states that have passed Safe Driving Bills have reduced their uninsured population. The bill also enjoys widespread and growing public support: Eight states plus the District of Columbia have passed similiar legislation IN THE PAST YEAR ALONE A Fox 25 News online poll gathered almost 26,000 votes with support for the bill running OVER FOUR TO ONE. Radio pundit Michael Graham also ran an online poll with over 70% SUPPORT for the Safe-Driving Bill
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:56:57 +0000
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