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Sam Drysdale |SHNS
Truck drivers whose vehicles lack key
safety equipment could face a presumption of liability in fatal crashes
involving cyclists, and speed cameras could be deployed in school,
safety and construction zones under a pair of road safety amendments
added to an economic development bill during late-night deliberations
Thursday.
The amendments, both filed by Sen. Will Brownsberger of Belmont, tee up two closely watched road safety debates.
The
truck safety proposal lands just weeks after the death of cyclist
Louisa Gag, who was killed in Boston after a collision with a truck,
renewing calls from advocates for better bike lanes and regulations on
urban drivers sharing the roads.
Brownsberger's
amendment (#160) would create a rebuttable presumption that a truck
driver is responsible in a fatal crash involving a "vulnerable road
user" such as a cyclist or pedestrian, if that truck is not equipped
with certain safety features such as side guards and backup cameras.
However,
he told the News Service the just-adopted proposal's complicated tort
law implications make its outlook dim to survive conference
negotiations.
The
Belmont Democrat said he sees stronger prospects for the speed camera
amendment (#215), which authorizes automated enforcement in school,
safety and construction zones and mirrors legislation Gov. Maura Healey
has repeatedly proposed.
The
traffic cam amendment would allow cities and towns to install cameras
in school zones, designated safety zones and active construction areas
to monitor speeding — and send fines to drivers who violate limits.
Drivers
who go over 11 miles per hour over the posted limit in a school zone,
when the school is in session, or in an area of construction, would be
considered in violation of the proposed traffic law.
Per
the language in the amendment, drivers would receive a warning in the
mail the first time a camera catches them speeding. For subsequent
violations, it would be a $25 fine or $100 if driving over 25+ miles per
hour over the limit.
The
News Service asked Brownsberger whether the bill would automatically
trigger a mailed ticket every time a driver was traveling 12 miles per
hour over the speed limit in a school zone during the school day.
"That's the intention," he said. "The intent is to consistently catch those who are significantly violating the law."
Speeding
is a primary factor in about one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities,
according to advocates including Transportation for Massachusetts and
the Families for Safe Streets Massachusetts. As of January 2026,
speeding is one of the leading causes of preventable crashes in the
state.
Municipalities
would be capped at one camera per 5,000 residents, and local governments
would choose where they want to put them, targeting repeated
problem-areas. There's no cap to Department of Transportation-installed
cameras in work zones.
"There are plenty of neighborhoods that are begging for them. And so that's where they're going to go up," Brownsberger said.
Healey
included speed cameras in her fiscal year 2026 and 2027 budget
proposals, recommending a program similar to the one proposed in
Brownsberger's amendment, but the House and Senate did not act on the
idea in either budget cycle.
Opponents
have raised concerns about photos endangering driver and passenger
privacy and that municipalities could come to rely on fines as a revenue
source.
Brownsberger
said he believes using cameras would decrease racial bias in traffic
violation enforcement. "Cameras don't know who's driving," he said.
In 2025, Healey
scrawled her signatures to measures allowing the MBTA and regional
transit authorities to use bus cameras to enforce dedicated bus lanes
and bus stops, as well as empowering cities and towns to install
monitoring devices on school buses to record nearby vehicles that fail
to stop.
Brownsberger
frequently bikes to work at the State House from his home in Belmont,
though he said lately as he has been on the campaign trail ahead of a
competitive November election, he has been relying on his car more.
The senator sees the vulnerable road users amendment as moving the needle, even if it does not become law this session.
"I'm
hopeful that that will go across the finish line, but even as I've
advocated for the truck standards, I was candid with people that, look, I
know you might not be able to do this, but let's at least move it
forward, just to move the conversation forward," he said.
Under
a 2022 road safety law, lawmakers and former Gov. Charlie Baker
mandated that vehicles owned or contracted by the state must have
certain safety features, such as side guards, which help protect
cyclists and pedestrians.
Brownsberger
said that "covers a lot of vehicles" but "there's a broader scope of
vehicles that are tougher for us to regulate, and those are vehicles
that don't contract with the state."
In
a recent supplemental budget, lawmakers created a grant program for
municipal vehicles to outfit their trucks with the safety and better
visibility equipment. But there are still plenty of commercial trucks
coming from other states carrying packages, food deliveries or building
equipment into cities with mixed-use roads.
"This
is something that is really a problem primarily in Boston, Cambridge,
Somerville, and immediately surrounding communities, where you have a
lot of cyclists on the road and a lot of trucks in a dense, urban area,"
Brownsberger said.
Since
the state cannot supersede federal regulations related to vehicle
design, Brownsberger said lawmakers have struggled to find a way to
require trucks to have the safety equipment on Massachusetts streets.
"This
amendment was an effort to address that by saying, okay, look, we don't
think we can mandate design standards for just about every vehicle
coming through the state. We don't think we have the power to do that.
But what we should be able to say is, if you harm somebody, and you
haven't taken precautions in the design of your vehicle, then we'll
presume you're negligent," he said.
The
issue has been in the news lately since city planner Gag was struck and
killed by a truck while on her bike in Boston earlier this month.
Brownsberger said he was pushing for this bill before Gag's "tragic
death," but the timing "shines a light on it and makes it all that much
more important."
Her
death has re-inflamed debate over bike lanes, and Boston Mayor Michelle
Wu promised more protection for cyclists last week, after she came under
fire for slowing down infrastructure projects.
Brownsberger is running in November against Democrat Daniel Lander, a former Wu staffer who has been endorsed by the mayor.
Asked
Monday about the two adopted road safety amendments, Lander was not
available for comment but sent a statement saying the speed camera
proposal does not go far enough.
"Advocates
and the City of Boston have been fighting for the state to take action
on common sense street safety laws for years, but Senator Brownsberger
and the state senate have been dragging their feet. This amendment on
automatic enforcement doesn’t go far enough to give municipalities the
enforcement tools they need," Lander said. "Yet again, the State Senate
isn’t listening to local leaders and advocates. We need more urgent
leadership on Beacon Hill that will actually fight to make our streets
safer for everyone instead of defending the broken status quo."
Sam Drysdale is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts.
