North Shore Legislators Rally Around Peabody Car Carrier Restriction

PEABODY, MA — The two state representatives and state senator from Peabody are championing state law prohibiting the loading and unloading of vehicles from carriers on public ways after the Peabody City Council proposed a similar ordinance affecting Route 1 and Route 114 dealerships this summer.

State Rep. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) testified in favor the house bill in front of the Joint Committee on Transportation at the State House on Monday.

Representative Thomas P. Walsh (D-Peabody) testified on House Bill 3472, An Act relative to loading and alighting vehicles from car carriers on public ways, in front of the Joint Committee on Transportation at the State House on Monday. Walsh co-filed the legislation with State Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) and State Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem).

"Like many Peabody residents who drive on Route 114, I experience first-hand the risky and dangerous practice of car carriers unloading their vehicles in the center lane and driving across several lanes of oncoming traffic to reach the dealerships," Walsh said. "To protect roadway user safety, we filed this common-sense legislation to explicitly outlaw this practice and provide our police the tools they need to enforce the law accordingly."

Under the Peabody ordinance, proposed by Ward 5 City Councilor Dave Gamache and discussed at a February Legal Affairs Committee meeting that included both Walsh and Kerans, there would be a $1,000 fine for each offense. Walsh told the City Council that night that he and his colleagues planned to file a similar bill at the state level.

Under House Bill 3472, a car carrier operator who is found parked on a public roadway and unloading vehicles will be subject to a $250 fine for abandoning a motor vehicle and potential license suspension, and the carrier company is subject to forfeiting their carrying permit.

"We are focused on improving safety on Rt. 114, and any observer can see the danger when a car carrier unloads in the middle of Andover Street," Kerans said. "This legislation will deter this practice."

"The safety of motorists and pedestrians should be paramount on Route 114," Lovely said. "I am grateful to have filed this legislation alongside Representatives Walsh and Kerans so that we can continue to improve safety along 114 by eliminating this unnecessary hazard."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)