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Haley Cremer's death spurs action to pass license law

By Paula Vogler, Wicked Local Sharon

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Haley Cremer's death spurs action to pass license law
By Paula Vogler, Wicked Local Sharon
Her tragic death in June at the age of 20 has spurred Haley Cremer’s family and politicians to do something that would hopefully prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.Cremer’s parents, Marc and Ivie, her sister, Morgan and state Rep. Lou Kafka have been working closely to drive new legislation requiring the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles to notify the local police department where an individual resides when his or her license is suspended or revoked, Wicked Local Sharon reports. “Currently, the police have no knowledge of individuals with suspended licenses. The RMV only notifies the licensee that their license has been suspended or revoked,” Marc Cremer said. “If the police stop an individual for a traffic infraction or any other lawful purpose and run their license through the RMV, they obtain a copy of the operator’s driving record and are made aware of the suspension or revocation at that time.”Haley was killed on Hampton Road near the intersection with Dogwood Road in Sharon by a sport utility vehicle driven by Jeffrey Bickoff, 44, of 186 Morse St, Sharon, whose license had been suspended.Cremer pointed to the recent injury to a Methuen High School student who was struck while heading to a bus stopped with its lights flashing by a man with a suspended license as another instance of advance police notice perhaps helping.“There are many operators who believe they are above the law and drive with a suspended license. Having a license is a privilege and if you lose that privilege, you do not belong behind the wheel,” Cremer said. “Providing local authorities with this information would raise their awareness of operators who have had their license suspended or revoked, so that they can proactively stop violators if they see them on the road. If the law results in even one of the many violators being stopped, that is one less operator who could potentially kill an innocent victim such as Haley.”The bill has passed both the House and Senate, and is now on Gov. Deval Patrick's desk. A spokesperson for Patrick confirmed the bill is currently under review. “This bill will direct the (RMV) to notify local police upon suspension or revocation of a license,” Kafka said. “It’s something that’s not done all the time.”Kafka said that way if police saw a person and knew their license was suspended, they could stop the person right away.Cremer said along with the notification of license suspension or revocation the RMV would send police departments the reason for the revocation or suspension as well as the license plate number of any vehicle registered to the person and a copy of their driving record.It would also direct the RMV to notify police of any reissuance of a license or registration to the person.Cremer said the proposed bill is akin to an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.In the meantime, Cremer said the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing charges against Bickoff in Superior Court.  

Her tragic death in June at the age of 20 has spurred Haley Cremer’s family and politicians to do something that would hopefully prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.

Cremer’s parents, Marc and Ivie, her sister, Morgan and state Rep. Lou Kafka have been working closely to drive new legislation requiring the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles to notify the local police department where an individual resides when his or her license is suspended or revoked, Wicked Local Sharon reports

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“Currently, the police have no knowledge of individuals with suspended licenses. The RMV only notifies the licensee that their license has been suspended or revoked,” Marc Cremer said. “If the police stop an individual for a traffic infraction or any other lawful purpose and run their license through the RMV, they obtain a copy of the operator’s driving record and are made aware of the suspension or revocation at that time.”

Haley was killed on Hampton Road near the intersection with Dogwood Road in Sharon by a sport utility vehicle driven by Jeffrey Bickoff, 44, of 186 Morse St, Sharon, whose license had been suspended.

Cremer pointed to the recent injury to a Methuen High School student who was struck while heading to a bus stopped with its lights flashing by a man with a suspended license as another instance of advance police notice perhaps helping.

“There are many operators who believe they are above the law and drive with a suspended license. Having a license is a privilege and if you lose that privilege, you do not belong behind the wheel,” Cremer said. “Providing local authorities with this information would raise their awareness of operators who have had their license suspended or revoked, so that they can proactively stop violators if they see them on the road. If the law results in even one of the many violators being stopped, that is one less operator who could potentially kill an innocent victim such as Haley.”

The bill has passed both the House and Senate, and is now on Gov. Deval Patrick's desk. A spokesperson for Patrick confirmed the bill is currently under review. 

“This bill will direct the (RMV) to notify local police upon suspension or revocation of a license,” Kafka said. “It’s something that’s not done all the time.”

Kafka said that way if police saw a person and knew their license was suspended, they could stop the person right away.

Cremer said along with the notification of license suspension or revocation the RMV would send police departments the reason for the revocation or suspension as well as the license plate number of any vehicle registered to the person and a copy of their driving record.

It would also direct the RMV to notify police of any reissuance of a license or registration to the person.

Cremer said the proposed bill is akin to an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.

In the meantime, Cremer said the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing charges against Bickoff in Superior Court.