Boston drivers are being slapped with a call to action—and it's not on their smartphones. MassDOT has revved up a new campaign with BU AdLab to combat distracted driving by encouraging motorists to hit the "do not disturb" button before they hit the gas. This movement, dubbed "mass DO NOT DISTURB," aims to reinforce the Hands-Free Law rolled in four years back, as the state observes a spike in texting-while-driving citations, despite the ban.
Launching the campaign, MassDOT Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt highlighted the persistent plague of roadway distractions. "MassDOT is proud to announce our partnership with the BU AdLab for the mass DO NOT DISTURB campaign," she said in a statement. "MassDOT is committed to a future without roadway deaths and raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving is an important step towards that goal"—a noble pursuit clashing against a tide of smartphone-induced negligence.
As told to Mass.gov, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver noted, "Despite the passage of the Hands-Free Law, distracted driving remains a top cause of fatal crashes." The grim statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration further paint the perilous picture: 3,522 lives were snuffed out in distracted driving-related accidents just last year, and that's not counting the nonoccupants, like cyclists and pedestrians, who also bit the dust. A mere glance at a text, at 55 mph, is tantamount to a blindfolded dash across the length of a football field.
Since the Hands-Free Law's deployment in 2020, pulling over daydreaming drivers glued to their mobile screens has become a state sport. Starting with nearly 30,000 citations that year, it peaked at nearly 54,000 in 2023, a testament either to steadfast law enforcement or a deep-seated addiction to digital chatter. Enforcing hands-free only modes for electronic devices, the statute forbids any engagement that takes the eyes off the road—unless it's routing your ride, and mounted securely at that.
Flouting the law doesn't come cheap either. Get caught once, and you're set back a hundred bucks. A repeat performance costs $250, and by the third time, the fine triples to $500. Habitual offenders also get to enjoy an educational program designed to drill the dangers of distracted driving into their heads. MassDOT's team-up with BU AdLab signals a renewed push for attention on the road—not on the phone.
