Appointed by Governor in consultation with Secretary of Transportation: Marco Carranza, Jr.; Michael Gosse; Patrick M. Sheehan; Carol Silldorff; Robert Strassburger; Marcia A. Ways; John Z. Wetmore.
Appointed by Senate President: Norman R. Stone, Jr.
Appointed by House Speaker: Alfred C. Carr, Jr.
Staff: Edward T. Paulis, Jr.
c/o Office of Traffic & Safety, State Highway Administration, Dept. of Transportation
707 North Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 787-4092
e-mail: epaulis@sha.state.md.us
In June 2008, the Maryland Quiet Vehicles and Pedestrian Safety Task Force formed (Chapters 384 & 385, Acts of 2008). In May 2009, the Task Force was re-established by statute (Chapters 249 & 250, Acts of 2009).
Because the Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2007 will result in more electric and hybrid vehicles on State roads, and because such vehicles run with less sound than gasoline internal combustion engines, the Task Force studied ways to ensure that pedestrians, especially blind pedestrians, are not at risk from quieter vehicles. The study included a survey of available technology that increases the safety of blind pedestrians. The Task Force conducted public hearings; reviewed research on the subject; and consulted with consumer groups representing blind individuals, pedestrians, cyclists, and child safety advocates. The Task Force recommended minimum noise levels and types of sounds to be required for new vehicles registered and sold in Maryland, as well as how technology can be used to protect blind pedestrians.
On December 19, 2008, the first task force submitted its final report to the General Assembly. Because that task force found that the increase in quieter vehicles posed a growing safety hazard to the population as a whole and not just to blind individuals, it recommended that the task force be reconstituted to continue its work.
On December 7, 2010, the Task Force submitted its report to the Governor and General Assembly. Authorization for the Task Force extended through December 31, 2010.
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