Take Action

If you haven't already done so, please take action now to ask members of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee to OPPOSE Senate Bill 942 / House Bill 1405 that makes major changes to the recent law that safeguards bikers, pedestrians, vulnerable users and all who use our roads.

SB942 / HB1405 significantly changes the wording of the current Criminally Negligent Manslaughter, by Vehicle or Vessel, law (Maryland law §2-210).  As a result of this law, people who cause fatalities because they drive in a criminally negligent manner, may face jail time and/or stiffer fines rather than merely paying a few hundred dollars in traffic court. We do NOT want this law to be changed!

SB942 / HB1405 would change the definition of a “vehicle” to exclude a “motor vehicle,” and it mentions a very narrow list of reprehensible acts. This would mean that someone who drives a car, bus, SUV, or truck and takes unjustifiable risks that cause a fatality would pay a few traffic fines through traffic court. This bill also removes a prosecutor’s ability to use good judgment to bring to trial those who have caused a fatality by driving in a criminally negligent way.

Bike Maryland worked tirelessly, for many years, to pass legislation to close the previous gap in Maryland law and give Marylanders some comfort in knowing that, over time, our roads will be safer because people are being held accountable for egregious, risky driving behaviors. If SB942 /HB1405 passes, there will, again, be a loophole in Maryland law that will let criminally negligent drivers get away with manslaughter. We know that cyclists and pedestrians are most vulnerable to risk taking drivers.

You will be telling them:
• Prosecutors need to continue to have the ability to hold drivers accountable for causing the death of another as a result of criminally negligent driving.
• Drivers who cause fatalities because they take unjustifiable risks when they drive need to be held accountable for their actions and not simply pay a few traffic citations.
• The public needs to know that there are serious consequences for risk taking behaviors when driving so that Maryland roads will be safer, in the long run.

Take a minute to complete the form below and please personalize the letter if possible.

To: brian.frosh@senate.state.md.us, lisa.gladden@senate.state.md.us, jim.brochin@senate.state.md.us, jennie.forehand@senate.state.md.us, joseph.getty@senate.state.md.us, nancy.jacobs@senate.state.md.us, victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us, jamie.raskin@senate.state.md.us, christopher.shank@senate.state.md.us, norman.stone@senate.state.md.us, bobby.zirkin@senate.state.md.us, hattie.harrison@house.state.md.us, rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us, elizabeth.bobo@house.state.md.us, talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us, norman.conway@house.state.md.us, dereck.davis@house.state.md.us, kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us, brian.feldman@house.state.md.us, jeannie.haddaway@house.state.md.us, peter.hammen@house.state.md.us, sheila.hixson.annapolis@house.state.md.us, carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us, adrienne.jones@house.state.md.us, a.wade.kach@house.state.md.us, james.malone@house.state.md.us, maggie.mcintosh@house.state.md.us, leroy.myers@house.state.md.us, anthony.odonnell@house.state.md.us, shane.pendergrass@house.state.md.us, james.proctor@house.state.md.us, samuel.rosenberg@house.state.md.us, david.rudolph@house.state.md.us, nancy.stocksdale@house.state.md.us, joseph.vallario@house.state.md.us

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Dear Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Members and House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee Members, I ask for your help in ensuring that the previous loophole in Marylands law remains closed. Please OPPOSE SB942 / HB1405. This bill will destroy the purpose and intent 2-210: Criminally Negligent Manslaughter- Vehicle or Vessel which was passed by the Legislature in 2011. By altering the definition of Vehicle to exclude motor vehicles, and by narrowly defining criminally negligent acts this bill would prohibit prosecutors from exercising their discretion and bringing to trial other negligent drivers who take unjustifiable risks and cause fatalities. Legislators worked for many years to ensure that the wording in the law of Criminally Negligent Manslaughter- Vehicle or Vessel enabled prosecutors to bring to trial those individuals who cause fatalities by endangering others and driving in an unjustifiably risky manner. Great care was taken by the legislators in drafting this statute to make a clear distinction from the law for Vehicular Manslaughter. There are now two distinct offenses with differing levels of criminal responsibility. SB942 / HB1405 would allow most drivers whose reckless endangerment lead to the death of an innocent person to pay only a small fine in traffic court. SB 942 / HB1405 would, in effect, sanction criminally negligent driving in Maryland beyond its narrowly defined prohibited acts and convey the message to reckless drivers that Maryland does not value the lives of its citizens. - Safety on our roads is critical. - It is well known that greater sanctions for those who cause road fatalities does, over time, reduce fatalities as people take greater care in their driving behavior. - Those who cause fatalities by taking unjustifiable risks, should face appropriate sanctions and not simply pay a few traffic citations. I ask you to please vote AGAINST SB942 / HB1405. I look forward to hearing back from you about your position and actions. Thank you for standing up for me on this important issue.

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