Washington, DC- U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, discussed ways to improve highway safety at the hearing on “Every Life Counts: Improving the Safety of our Nation’s Roadways.”
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Davis highlighted the 15 Illinois State Police officers who have been struck while responding to traffic incidents.
"In my home state of Illinois, we’ve had 15 officers struck this year already while outside of their vehicles," said Davis. "We have a state law called Scott’s Law that is meant to protect our law enforcement officers, good samaritans, and tow truck drivers who are on the side of the roadways trying to help motorists who are stranded. This is something we have not experienced at this level in my home state before, it's happened for many years, and it's something that obviously we need to address, especially with distracted driving and other issues that have caused these tragic accidents."
Additionally, Davis asked witness Jennifer Homendy, who is a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), about what can be done to ensure drivers are not driving under the influence in places where marijuana is legal.
"The technology is not there yet, for states like Illinois that will be on a path to legalize marijuana, but groups are working towards a solution," said Davis. "My concern is how do we get technology up to the forefront to be able to do a roadside test just like we do with impaired drivers due to alcohol consumption."
Click here to view all of his remarks at the hearing.
