Thursday, 4:30 PM
Officials urge drivers to buckle up this weekend
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
Flanked by State Police troopers and a Reading teenager who lost two friends in a high-speed crash in March, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey expressed disappointment today with the narrow defeat of a stronger seat belt bill, but implored drivers to buckle up during the upcoming holiday weekend.
"Regardless of what happened yesterday, it is the law of the land that you should buckle up," Healey said during a press conference at Carson Beach in South Boston. "I support the primary seat belt law and I am disappointed."
The state Senate passed a bill last week that would have given police the right to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts, but yesterday, House lawmakers killed the measure for this session. The current law allows officers to issue a $25 ticket for not wearing a seat belt only after stopping motorists for another violation.
Madeline Nalley, a 16-year-old junior at Reading High School, said she was not sure if her friends would have worn a seat belt if a primary law had been established prior to the accident, but said, it's important whether there is a law or not that you buckle up for your own safety."
Her friends, Amanda Nadeau and Scott Connolly, both 16, died when their car, driven by Connolly, veered across Route 128 and slammed into a tree in Wakefield. State Police said speed was a factor in the accident.
Lt. Col. Thomas G. Robbins, the outgoing head of the State Police, said "Operation Zero Tolerance" will begin tomorrow and run through Memorial Day, cracking down on speeding, drunk driving, and safety belt violations. "We want to send this message, that if you are stopped for a driving offense and not buckled up, you will be ticketed," he said.
"If you don't obey Massachusetts traffic laws, its very likely, especially this weekend, that you will be caught," he added.
