AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci is asking Mainers what should be done with people like Scott Hewitt, who continue to drive despite egregious records and after their licenses have been suspended.
On Monday, a group gave Baldacci its recommendations of ways Maine could crack down on dangerous drivers, including longer jail sentences and higher fines. The proposals are posted on the governor’s Web page at www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/issues/DangerousDriverIndex.html.
People may e-mail their comments to the governor at Governor@maine.gov.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said his office will give a list of the worst 100 drivers to police in September. The list will help police look out for the who’s who of dangerous drivers in Maine, officials said.
People on the top 100 list will be those who have many serious violations and a history of dangerous driving that “never stops,” Dunlap said. Drivers who had a lot of violations years ago, but have since improved, will not make the list, he said.
The recommendations are part of the response to the July 29 fatal crash in which a rig driver by Caribou trucker Scott Hewitt ran over a car driven by Tina Turcotte. Turcotte died several days later. Hewitt was driving on the Maine Turnpike with a suspended license, and had a record with more than 19 suspensions and 42 convictions. It was the second fatality he had been involved with. The crash and Hewitt’s record sparked public outrage.
Aside from higher fines and longer jail sentences, Monday’s report recommends taking away some chronic offenders’ licenses for life, immobilizing vehicles through increased use of the Denver “boot,” and encouraging citizens to tell police about people driving with suspended licenses.
One national study found that suspended drivers were four times more likely to be involved with fatalities than other drivers. Some reasons suspended drivers are more dangerous, experts said, is that they’re willing to break laws, take risks and aren’t worried about consequences.
Another proposal is to require the trucking industry to review its mandates and recommend how they could be changed to ensure safer drivers, especially independent truckers – such as Hewitt – who may have less review.
The recommendations came from a group appointed by Baldacci and headed by Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, Transportation Commissioner David A. Cole, and the chief of the state police, Col. Craig Poulin.
Based on public reaction so far, “people want stronger penalties for those who drive with suspended licenses” and have egregious records, Dunlap said. “But it’s not quite so simple as locking people up.” The state needs to launch an education campaign encouraging people to obey motor vehicle laws, he said.
With so many asking how someone like Hewitt could have been on the road, the subject of chronic suspended drivers will be a focus in next year’s legislative debate, Dunlap said. The recommendations are “trying to point areas legislators can direct their focus,” he said.
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