Press Release  MassDOT Launches Car Safety Starter Kit Campaign to Improve Roadside Visibility

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the launch of a new campaign to prevent roadside crashes involving drivers and passengers who exit their vehicles. With the conclusion of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday morning, November 2, MassDOT is launching an awareness campaign for motorists to make themselves visible when exiting their vehicles on the side of the road, particularly after sunset. In addition to the public awareness campaign, MassDOT will distribute approximately 1,000 Car Safety Kits to new drivers at certain RMV Road Test Locations in November. Driver education schools will also receive kits to use as a teaching tool alongside the curriculum. 

“This campaign underscores a critical point for people who may find themselves in emergency situations: be prepared, be seen, and be safe,” said Undersecretary and State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.  “Especially as daylight hours get shorter and shorter, drivers and passengers that exit their vehicles face the ultimate risk so we are reminding the public to be mindful when passing disabled vehicles.”  

The MassDOT Car Safety Starter Kit is a small bag of supplies that a driver keeps in their vehicle, containing three LED flares to alert other drivers, a high-visibility safety vest to be worn if exiting the vehicle, a simple first aid kit, and a tip sheet for use. The kit can be modified by drivers to include other items as they see fit. The kit is designed to be kept in a vehicle and used during breakdowns or crashes to increase driver and passenger visibility. While drivers are always encouraged to remain inside their vehicles when it is safe to do so, this kit prepares them to stay seen if exiting the vehicle is necessary. 

“Under the Healey-Driscoll administration, state agencies have increased efforts to reduce roadway injuries and deaths, and public education is a huge part of that effort,” said Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie.  “At this time of year in particular, as the sun sets earlier and Daylight Savings Time comes to an end, drivers need to be more aware than ever of the hazards of being out on the road, dealing with less daylight, challenging weather, and then keeping themselves visible when outside vehicles. The Car Safety Kit initiative will help keep new drivers safe and encourage all motor vehicle owners to keep emergency supplies close at hand.” 

These kits will be distributed to approximately 1,000 Massachusetts drivers taking their road tests, and another 300 distributed to driver education programs as training tools. The road test locations where car safety kits will be given away are Springfield, Milford, Mattapan, Lawrence, and Taunton. The campaign encourages people to create their own car safety kit or give one as a gift to loved one.  

Since January 2021, there have been 74 fatalities in Massachusetts involving drivers or passengers who exited their vehicles while stopped on the side of the road, and 66% of vulnerable user crashes on interstate highways or freeways in Massachusetts occurred during non-daylight hours. Through this campaign, MassDOT aims to educate drivers about visibility when stopped on the side of the road and provide tools for new drivers to keep themselves safe and visible. 

The Car Safety Kit rollout will be supported by a statewide PSA and social media campaign focused on one key message: If you have to exit your vehicle, be seen. Awareness materials will appear on MassDOT-managed billboards, RMV service center screens, MassDOT social media accounts, and in the Massachusetts Driver’s Manual and an updated driver’s education curriculum. The campaign also educates the public on the importance of staying inside the vehicle when it is safe to do so and using visibility tools when exiting is necessary.

With the launch of this campaign, Massachusetts becomes the first state in the country to launch a car safety kit campaign focused on visibility for passenger car drivers exiting a vehicle. 41 countries in Europe require drivers to keep warning triangles or LED flares in their vehicle, and 27 require drivers to keep a safety vest in the vehicle. 

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