Howard: General Assembly Refuses to Study Traffic Accidents in CT
HARTFORD- State Rep. Greg Howard (R-43) expresses frustration that an amendment on the omnibus Department of Motor Vehicles to establish a task force to study traffic stops, traffic accidents, traffic enforcement in our state was defeated on mostly along party lines 58-93.
The amendment LCO 5460 would have established a task force to study and identify the causes and factors contributing to the decrease in traffic stops and enforcement of motor vehicle violations in the state since the year 2018, and the increase in traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities during that time.
“For three years, I have been trying to pass legislation to cause a return of enforcement to our highways as traffic stops plummet and fatalities skyrocket, but the majority party consistently rejects these efforts, always citing concerns about too many police stops. Today, I proposed a task force including relevant stakeholders such as the ACLU, and the Connecticut Racial Profiling and Prohibition Advisory Council to study the issue and make recommendations, and even that was rejected. It appears that the majority party in Hartford wants to ignore the mounting death toll on Connecticut roadways.” said Rep. Howard, the Ranking Member of the Public Safety and Security Committee.
The study would include the following: (1) Whether the existing driver’s license training requirements should be revised to require increased education regarding safe highway driving and defensive driving strategies, (2) whether state law and regulations governing the suspension and reinstatement of driver’s license should be amended to decrease traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities, (3) the morale level among rank-and-file state police officers, (4) recent changes to state law, (5) the public attitude toward police officers and the police as an institution, and (6) any correlation or relationship between decreased traffic enforcement and increased traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities.