| Question | Answer |
| Walking dogs. I need to know what are some of the traffic laws for pedestrians walking roadside with a dog in a rural area. Also what is considered a violation? Thank you. (New Marlboro) | The procedure for walking dogs
on the rural roads in your area would be to always have your dog on a short
lease for its protection. Walk against the traffic with your dog on your
left. New Marlboro has a restraining order for dogs - therefore, using
a leash is a law, as well as a protection for the animal.
The dog officer is Marty Clark, 1-413-528-6694. |
| Bicyclists. Is a person riding a bike considered a pedestrian? Are bicyclists permitted to ride on a sidewalk? | Operators of bicycles
are not considered pedestrians. Please see below:
According to the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 85: Section 11B: Every person operating a bicycle upon a "way" ( any public highway,private way laid out under authority of statue, way dedicated to public use, or way under the control of park commissioners or body having like powers) shall have the right to use all public ways in the commonwealth except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bicycles have been posted, and shall be subject to the traffic laws and regulations of the commonwealth and the special regulations contained in this section, except that: 1) the bicycle operator may keep to the right when passing a motor vehicle which is moving in the travel lane of the way. 2) the bicycle operator shall signal by either hand his intention to stop or turn, and 3) bicycles may be ridden on the sidewalks outside business districts when necessary in the interest of safety, unless otherwise directed by local ordinance. A person operating a bicycle on the sidewalk shall yield the right of way to pedestrians and give an audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian. There are other requirements like - wearing a helmet if you are twelve or Under, children 1-4 being in a "baby seat", lights on at dusk and dawn, etc. Violations of any provision (except the helmet law) shall be punished by a fine of not more than 20 dollars. The parent or guardian of any person under age 18 shall not authorize or knowingly permit any such person to violate any of the provisions. A bicycle operated by a person under the age of 18 in violation of this section may be impounded by the police department, or in a town without police, by the selectmen, for a period not to exceed 15 days. This violation is not considered a criminal offense. Each town is allowed to set its own ordinances through
its City Council Or Board of Selectmen. You would have to check with the
Town Clerk to determine if your town has an ordinance referring to bicycles
on sidewalks.
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| # of crashes. How many motor vehicle accidents occurred on Mass. Highways last year. Need answer for school research paper. | The latest stats that I have indicate
that there were 179,789 total crashes in Mass in 1997.
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| Sidewalks. How do you get the city to install a sidewalk on Britton Street, where it doesn't exist now but one did? [The writer describes her sister's street with young children and teens having to walk in the road and trucks racing to and from a business at the dead end. There are also many elderly living on the street.] | The people who live in that neighborhood
have to do a few things. First, they need to speak with the councilman
who represents their district. They can find out that information from
the City Clerk's office. Then, they need to have a petition signed by the
home owners on the street, asking for the sidewalk back - attach that information
to a short paragraph like the one you wrote above. That petition and paragraph
should go to both your Councilman and the Commissioner of Public Works,
Commissioner Forestell. Another copy should go to the Mayor, for his information.
I would also send one to the Public Relations and/or President of Emerson
Construction Company. They need to be aware that their employees and visitors
are causing a dangerous driving condition - remind them that both children
and elderly represent a good portion of the neighborhood's population.
Both are population groups who do experience, through their age-related
actions, more of the pedestrian injuries than other groups. Their injuries,
especially with regard to the elderly, are also usually more serious. With
both groups, their bodies are more fragile and, with the elderly, they
often have other complicating medical conditions.
I would emphasize the use of the tracks by teens in your written paragraph, also, as pedestrian use of the tracks, especially by teens, is a growing concern within the city. Alerting the Traffic Division of Pittsfield Police to
the speeding issue and the concern about the nearby tracks would bring
the police into the neighborhood, which MAY encourage drivers to slow down.
The children should be encouraged to stay out of the roadway.
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| New teen driving law. What's this about new teen driving laws? Is there a page that I can go to and get a printout about it? If not can up type something out for me about it? | The following represent the new
Graduated License Provisions:
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| Elm/East Intersection, Pittsfield. As one is driving on Elm Street at the intersection of East Street, there are two lanes. The left lane is clearly marked for left turns. The right lane is marked with a forked arrow - one pointing right the other pointing straight. It would appear that the right lane is not supposed to make left hand turns; however, each time I am at that intersection, I see people turning left from the right lane. What is the proper usage of the right lane? | The right lane is marked before
the right hand turn onto East Street, at the Pittsfield Rye Bakery, to
indicate it is proper to turn right or proceed to the intersection. There
are no other restrictions for the right lane. The driver may go straight
across to Fourth St. or left into the middle lane of East Street.
The left lane is marked twice. The first arrow indicates
you must got straight to the intersection (can't turn right) for a left
hand turn only. The second arrow indicates left hand turn only, by order
of the City Council. Of course, cars turning left onto East Street should
stay to the left - into the left hand land on East St. If a driver wants
to change lanes, he/she should signal before doing so, after entering East
St.
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| Keeping right. I no longer see any slower traffic keep right safety signs on the Pike and other limited-access highways in the Commonwealth. I've observed a number of passing-on-the-right near-miss accidents lately and think the highways are becoming more dangerous as a result of the failure to keep right. An ambulance in a hurry the other day was obstructed by a number of cars failing to yield the leftmost lane. Has the law changed requiring drivers to keep right? | You are right. The law allows
passing on the right now.
Vehicles, however, are required to move to the right to allow emergency Vehicles to pass. Also, the drivers who are weaving from lane to lane in an effort to pass are sometimes practicing aggressive driving. The Commonwealth will be focusing on aggressive driving habits this year, providing increased awareness around these issues. Hopefully, there will be improved driving behavior as a result. Thank you for your input. All comments are passed along
to the Bureau. Comments such as yours help us to evaluate and identify
traffic safety needs and community concerns. It helps us to focus our attention
toward appropriate solutions.
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| Drunk driving penalties and teen driving law restriction questions. With the new teen driving laws it says that there can't be any passengers under the age of 18 w/o a person over the age of 21 (for the first 6 months of license). What is the charge if caught traveling w/someone under 18? And one other Q! Don't u find it kinda dumb that if someone is over 21 and they get stopped for drunk driving then lose their license for a minimum (after going to court to reduce license loss) of 45-90 days! But after getting 2 speeding tickets a person would get 180 days license suspension! Correct me if I'm wrong, about these statistics but that sounds really dumb to me. Do u know of a e-mail address where I can get a hold of who made or did whatever with these laws? | A junior operator who violates
the passenger restriction shall be subject to a license suspension of up
to 90 days. The six month passenger restriction period will stop running
when the suspension begins and the remainder of the restriction period
will start running again when the suspension is completed.
If you are arrested for drunk driving, the police will detain you, read you your rights, have your car towed; you will be handcuffed and taken to the police station in a police cruiser. You will be offered a breathalyzer test. If you refuse the test, a police officer will immediately take your license, and it will automatically be suspended for a minimum of 120 days or up to 1.5 years. You will also be required to pay a $50 fee to reinstate your license. If you take the breathalyzer and you register a .08 or over (.02 for under 21), a police officer will immediately take your license and it will automatically be suspended for a minimum of 90 days or up to 270. You will also be required to pay a $50 fee to reinstate your license. If you are convicted of a first offense: Your may be sentenced up to 2.5 years in jail. Your license will be revoked for one year. You will have to pay $300 to reinstate your license. Or, you may be placed on probation and required to attend the First Offender Driver Alcohol Education Program, pay a $527 fee and have your license suspended for not less than 45 days (or 210 days if you are under 21). You will have to pay $300 to reinstate your license. You may be fined up to $10,000.
Or you may be placed on probation in lieu of a jail term, which will require you to be confined for at least 14 days in a residential alcohol treatment program and pay an $800 fee and to participate in an outpatient counseling program. Your license will be revoked for 2 years. You will have to pay $500 to reinstate your license, and take your written license exam and road test over again. According to the Mass. General Laws, any person convicted of a speeding violation, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50. "Where said conviction is for operating a vehicle at a rate of speed exceeding ten miles per hour over the speed limit…, an additional fine of ten dollars for each mile per hour in excess of the ten miles per hour shall be assessed. That person convicted of a speeding violation shall be punished (exclusive of the additional fines) by a fine of not more than $100 dollars for the first offense, not less than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty dollars for a second offense committed in any twelve-month period, and not less than one hundred and fifty nor more than three hundred dollars for subsequent offenses committed in any twelve-month period..." Upon a third conviction in the same twelve month period of a violation of speeding, the registrar shall revoke the license of the person convicted, and no new license shall be issued to that person for at least 30 days after the date of the revocation, nor thereafter except in the discretion of the registrar. However, the new graduated licensing law - for a second speeding offense - requires a mandatory suspension, in addition to any other penalty, fine suspension, revocation or requirement that may be imposed, of 180 days for a second offense and one (1) year for a third or subsequent offense for speeding. (Speeding is a very real safety issue with drivers today. Speed is often an ingredient in a crash which results in serious injuries and deaths.) I do not have an email address, but discussion of any
of these laws could be directed to Representative Peter Larkin's office.
617-722-2430 or 413-448-8714.
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