Massachusetts governor to announce new wrong-way driving prevention steps in wake of trooper's death

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey will make an announcement Wednesday about steps the state is taking to prevent wrong-way driving incidents.

The governor and other public safety officials will speak at 10 a.m. at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Danvers, where Trooper Kevin Trainor was assigned. The 30-year-old was killed last month while trying to stop a driver who was going south in the northbound lanes of Route 1 in Lynnfield. The wrong-way driver also died.

Less than a month later, another trooper was injured in a wrong-way crash on the same highway in Peabody. That driver was charged with drunk driving and going the wrong way on a state highway. 

Massachusetts recently completed a pilot program that involved installing wrong-way driving detection devices around the state. In 16 locations, including I-95 in Burlington, Route 128 in Danvers and Route 3 in Plymouth, thermal imaging cameras are used to detect wrong-way driving and trigger flashing LED lights to let drivers know that they need to turn around. But state Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester says there are as many as 2,600 places in Massachusetts where they are needed.

Some lawmakers are looking to Connecticut, where there are more than 200 cameras on highway entrance ramps throughout the state. That system has encouraged more than 950 wrong-way drivers to self-correct since Dec. 2023, and the state has plans to double the number of cameras in place.

The Massachusetts Senate voted last month to approve a budget amendment to require new infrastructure and training for police on how to deal with wrong-way driving incidents.