For Immediate Release
“These are preventable tragedies.”
Sen. Hwang and MADD Back Roadway Safety Bill
Sen. Tony Hwang, Ranking Senator on the legislature’s Transportation Committee, on May 18 joined with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), members of the National Transportation Safety Board, state lawmakers and advocates to express support for legislation to lower Connecticut’s blood-alcohol content level from .08 to .05 aimed at reducing deadly crashes from impaired driving.
Watch Sen. Hwang’s remarks:
MADD CT
“These are preventable tragedies,” Sen. Hwang said. “Those who have lost loved ones due to impaired driving must live with that pain year after year. This proposal faces long odds this session, but it has started an uncomfortable yet productive conversation at the State Capitol. We need to focus on all types of driving impairment, including distracted driving and cannabis. We want all drivers to rethink getting behind the wheel with any level of impairment. That requires making a conscious cultural and societal shift. It requires education and public awareness through open, honest and sensible discussions. We need to reinforce that impaired driving is never acceptable. We do not to mourn another tragic loss of life.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Connecticut ranks fourth for the “highest percentage of fatal accidents caused by drunk driving”. According to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, 80 % of Connecticut’s wrong-way crashes involve impaired driving.
MADD honored Sen. Hwang with its “2016 Legislator of the Year” award for his work in the area of public safety.
“In 1980, Candy Lightner, a realtor from California, started MADD after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver who had several previous DWI arrests,” Sen. Hwang said. “Forty-three years later, Connecticut continues to build on what Candy Lightner started in her daughter’s memory. At the State Capitol, I continue to do all I can to work with Democrats and Republicans to make our roads as safe as they can possibly be.”
On the web: SenatorHwang.com.
*Sen. Hwang represents Bethel, Easton, Fairfield, Southport, Newtown and Sandy Hook.
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