CGA Committee OKs Mandatory MC Helmets, Lower BAC, Wrong-Way Driver Ed

HARTFORD, CT — State Sen. Christine Cohen (D-Guilford) led the Transportation Committee in the passage of several bills that seek to increase roadway public safety. The measures include a bill to lower the blood alcohol limit to be "legally impaired," implement wrong-way drivers' education classes, add a ban on open containers of alcohol in the passenger area of a motor vehicle, and mandate the wearing of helmets by motorcyclists.

The bills were passed Friday by the Transportation Committee and now head to the floor of the Senate or House for further consideration.

"It's incredibly important to pass these bills as we see an increase in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities here in Connecticut and as we recognize a steep increase in the number of automobile crashes and fatalities in this state as a result of people driving while intoxicated," Cohen, who is Senate Chair of the Transportation Committee, said. "Bills like lowering the blood alcohol concentration to be declared legally impaired and law enforcement notification are exactly the type of counter-measures that we need to be talking about as we try to combat wrong-way driving in Connecticut."

Cohen was joined by House Chair Rep. Roland Lemar (D-New Haven) in leading passage of the bills.

On hand at a news briefing Friday, was Gov. Ned Lamont among others to talk about a "new state campaign to fight deadly wrong-way driving crashes, 80 percent of which are due to impaired driving."

The road safety bills voted out of the Transportation Committee today include:

• Senate Bill 1082, "AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REGARDING A REDUCTION IN BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMITS FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING AND BOATING, ESTABLISHING THE CONNECTICUT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL, THE SHORE LINE EAST STUDY AND MOTOR VEHICLES IN LIVERY SERVICE." This bill lowers the blood alcohol content level needed to be declared "under the influence" while driving or boating from eight-hundredths (0.08) to five-hundredths (0.05), by body weight.

• House Bill 5917, "AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE VISION ZERO COUNCIL. This bill implements the recommendations of the Vision Zero Council, including: a ban on open containers of alcohol in a motor vehicle; mandatory use of motorcycle helmets; the creation of a new State Police fatal collision reduction team; specific DMV driver retraining classes based on the specific motor vehicle violation (i.e. DUI, speeding, etc.); the creation of a new DMV video highlighting a driver's need to observe pedestrians and bicyclists that citizens must watch before earning their driver's license; and the ability of cities and towns to install so-called "red light" cameras at school and pedestrian zones and other areas where traffic accidents have been a problem.

• House Bill 6746, AN ACT CONCERNING WRONG-WAY DRIVING DETECTION AND PREVENTION. This bill requires the Department of Transportation to expand efforts to implement wrong-way driving countermeasures and requires driver's education programs to include instruction concerning ways to reduce wrong-way driving incidents and actions to take when an operator encounters a motor vehicle being operated in the wrong direction.