Advisor

Michael Knodler

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

In July of 2017, the Boston Globe published an article titled “Driving Through These Towns in Mass.? Watch Your Speed” [1] that among other elements, included a series of maps and a brief summary identifying Massachusetts municipalities that had the most traffic violations issued between 2010 and 2016. The article stated that the Massachusetts State Police issued the most citations of any police agency in the state, and that many citations were given along major highways, especially Interstate 90 and major highways and routes that intersect it, such as Interstate 84 and Route 20. Despite the public attention-grabbing nature of the article, and the implication that traffic citations are being used as a mechanism of revenue generation, the article stops short of discussing the different types of citations, or the resulting roadway safety trends in those same areas.

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