Local officials spread awareness during National Distracted Driving Month
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – April is National Distracted Driving Month, and local officials are urging drivers to put down their phones.
Using your phone while driving has been illegal in Massachusetts since 2020. This month, a nationwide initiative will take place to remind people of the dangers of texting and driving.
Mass. health officials launch online grocery program for WIC participants
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that over 3,300 deaths were attributed to distracted driving in 2022. In Massachusetts, distracted driving can land you a fine of up to $500 after your third offense.
Wilbraham Police took to social media to spread awareness. They say that increased patrols will be taking place on the roads as a result of grant money from the state and federal government.
Distracted driving doesn't only result from using your phone. Other seemingly normal activities like applying makeup, eating, and drinking can all result in distractions on the road.
Increased police presence is expected across the state from April 10 through April 14.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
20 hours ago
Transportation chief seeks to weaken fuel economy standards, calls Biden-era rule 'illegal'
DETROIT -- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a rule Friday that Biden-era fuel economy standards for gas-powered cars and trucks were illegal and moved to reverse them, paving the way for a likely reset of rules. Combined with Senate language in the pending budget bill to eliminate penalties for exceeding standards regulating how far vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel, automakers moving forward could come under less pressure from regulators to reduce their pollution. Ultimately, the nation's use of electric vehicles could be slowed. The moves align with the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to slash federal support for EVs. President Donald Trump has pledged to end what he has called an EV 'mandate,' referring incorrectly to former President Joe Biden's target for half of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. EVs do not use gasoline or emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. No federal policy has required auto companies to sell — or car buyers to purchase — EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035. When he was in office, Biden imposed increasingly stringent emissions standards for cars and trucks. He included use of EVs in calculating the rules — an inclusion the Trump administration and the auto industry have argued was illegal and raised the bar too high for automakers to meet. The Transportation Department's memorandum Friday said the previous administration 'ignored statutory requirements' that barred consideration of EVs when setting standards. 'We are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States," Duffy said. The revised rule does not itself change existing standards, but it empowers the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make adjustments in coming months. Duffy put pressure on the federal agency earlier this year to reverse the fuel economy rules as soon as possible. Under the Biden administration, automakers were required to average about 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gas by 2031 — up from about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon for light-duty vehicles today — in an effort to save almost 70 billion gallons (265 billion liters) of gasoline through 2050. The rules, finalized in 2024, increased fuel economy 2% per year for passenger cars in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% each year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. Mileage rules — in place since the 1970s energy crisis — work alongside the EPA limits on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation accounts for the largest source of the nation's planet-warming emissions, and cars and trucks make up more than half of those. In recent years, automakers have been manufacturing gasoline-fueled cars that are more efficient and get higher mileage. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents automakers, called Duffy's announcement 'a positive development" that adds 'important clarity' to federal mileage rules. The Biden-era standards 'were 'improperly predicated' on alternative fuel vehicles,' said John Bozzella, the group's president and CEO. But Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All program, said the Transportation Department's action will increase costs for Americans and increase pollution. 'Making our vehicles less fuel-efficient hurts families by forcing them to pay more at the pump,' she said. 'It will lead to fewer clean-vehicle options for consumers, squeeze our wallets, endanger our health and increase climate pollution.' Meanwhile, Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee added proposed language to the pending budget bill Thursday that would remove fines penalizing automakers that don't meet fuel economy standards with their gas-powered vehicles. Automakers can buy credits under a trading program if they don't meet the standards. Manufacturers whose vehicles exceed the standards earn credits that they can sell to other carmakers. The memo and bill text landed this week as Tesla owner Elon Musk and Trump engage in a public spat online, with Trump suggesting that Musk 'only developed a problem' with his budget bill because it rolls back tax credits for EVs. Musk disputes that. ___ Daly reported from Washington. ___ ___
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration issues rule undermining Biden car fuel efficiency rules
The Trump administration on Friday took a step to undermine Biden-era rules that tightened fuel efficiency requirements for cars and trucks. The Transportation Department published an interpretive rule that says the Biden administration improperly considered electric vehicles as a way to make vehicle fleets more efficient While this determination does not formally end the Biden-era rule, the Trump administration indicated that while the rulemaking process plays out, it may not enforce the Biden-era standards. 'Pending the rulemaking process for the establishment of replacement standards, [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] will exercise its enforcement authority with regard to all existing … standards in accordance with the interpretation set forth in this rule,' it stated. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a written statement, accused the previous administration of trying to push an electric vehicle 'mandate.' 'Under President Trump's leadership, we are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States,' Duffy said. 'The previous administration illegally used [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards as an electric vehicle mandate.' The Biden administration issued a rule requiring cars to be about 2 percent more fuel efficient each year while heavy duty pickup trucks and vans would have to be 10 percent more efficient each year from 2030 to 2032 and 8 percent more efficient in the years after. President Trump has long talked about getting rid of the Biden administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles. He has argued that these efforts harm consumers' freedom to choose what kinds of cars they want to drive and could lead to strife for autoworkers. Democrats, meanwhile, have argued that shifting toward more electric vehicles would mitigate air pollution and climate change — and put the U.S. at the forefront of an emerging market. While Trump has long lamented the previous administration's electric vehicle policy, the release of the administration's determination comes just one day after an explosive feud emerged between the president and Tesla mogul Elon Musk. The Transportation Department rules came alongside a separate, more stringent regulation for vehicle tailpipe emissions from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that in practice has a greater effect on the vehicle market's fuel efficiency and is not impacted by the Trump administration's latest maneuver. However, the department's fuel economy rules would act as a backstop if the EPA rule was to be overturned. Republicans are attempting to eliminate that rule through their 'big, beautiful bill.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Trump administration issues rule undermining Biden car fuel efficiency rules
The Trump administration on Friday took a step to undermine Biden-era rules that tightened fuel efficiency requirements for cars and trucks. The Transportation Department published an interpretive rule that says that the Biden administration improperly considered electric vehicles as a way to make vehicle fleets more efficient While this determination does not formally end the Biden-era rule, the Trump administration indicated that while the rulemaking process plays out it may not enforce the Biden-era standards. 'Pending the rulemaking process for the establishment of replacement standards, [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] will exercise its enforcement authority with regard to all existing… standards in accordance with the interpretation set forth in this rule,' it stated. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a written statement, accused the previous administration of trying to push an electric vehicle 'mandate.' 'Under President Trump's leadership, we are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States,' Duffy said. 'The previous administration illegally used [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards as an electric vehicle mandate.' The Biden administration issued a rule requiring cars to be about 2 percent more fuel efficient each year while heavy duty pickup trucks and vans would have to be 10 percent more efficient each year from 2030 to 2032 and 8 percent more efficient in the years after. President Trump has long talked about getting rid of the Biden administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles. He has argued that these efforts harm consumers' freedom to choose what kinds of cars they want to drive and could lead to strife for autoworkers. Democrats, meanwhile, have argued that shifting toward more electric vehicles would mitigate air pollution and climate change – and put the U.S. at the forefront of an emerging market. While Trump has long lamented the previous administration's electric vehicle policy, the release of the administration's determination comes just one day after an explosive feud emerged between the president and Tesla mogul Elon Musk. The Transportation Department rules came alongside a separate, more stringent regulation for vehicle tailpipe emissions from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that in practice has a greater effect on the vehicle market's fuel efficiency and is not impacted by the Trump administration's latest maneuver. However, the department's fuel economy rules would act as a backstop if the EPA rule was to be overturned. Republicans are attempting to eliminate that rule through their 'big, beautiful bill.'
