CONCORD — New Hampshire needs to better enforce traffic laws and create new ones to reduce roadway crashes that kill dozens of people every year, according to a new report state officials are embracing.

The report from the Governor’s Special Task Force on Highway Safety was released in a Statehouse news conference Wednesday that included Gov. Kelly Ayotte, Attorney General John Formella and Department of Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn.

The report also calls for more police checkpoints to cut down on speeding and drunk driving, as well as a public-awareness campaign on traffic safety.

Roadway crashes have killed more than 100 people in the state this year, and 134 died in 2024, according to the N.H. Department of Safety.

Recent deaths

Just Tuesday night in Francestown, N.H., three recent ConVal High School graduates died in a car crash on Route 47. Aiden Brissette, Seth Fowler and Luis Torres were in a Ford Focus heading south shortly after 11 p.m. when the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a utility pole, State Police said.

Two weeks ago in Rindge, Richard Pezzolesi, 52, of Winchendon, Mass., died in a two-vehicle collision on Route 119, officers said.

The cause of both crashes is still under investigation.

“Every life lost on our roadways is one too many,” Ayotte said at the news conference in the N.H. Executive Council Chamber. “We owe it to every family affected by these tragedies to do whatever we can.”

Ayotte mentioned the deaths of Rebecca Cole, almost 1, and Tyler Shaw, 20. A car hit Cole when she and her family were crossing a street in Manchester on June 12. A man is accused of criminal charges including negligent homicide and drunk driving.

Shaw died in a crash in Bow, N.H., in 2018, prompting his mother, Beth Shaw, to become an advocate for stronger DUI laws. A man was convicted of drunk driving and negligent homicide in that crash. Beth Shaw was a member of the task force that produced the report released Wednesday.

The report calls for reframing language around motor-vehicle collisions from referring them as “accidents” to “crashes,” to reflect driver responsibility and the harm these incidents cause victims.

“When a lethal combination of speed, weight, and recklessness ends a life, the harm mirrors firing a loaded weapon in a crowded room.”

Bills planned

The N.H. Legislature will consider measures to strengthen highway safety laws next year.

Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, is the prime sponsor of a bill that would increase fines for using a hand-held mobile electronic device while driving a motor vehicle.

The task force report says, “Distracted driving is suspected to be greatly underreported in fatal and serious injury collisions. By the time investigating officers arrive at the scene, any indicators that distraction may have been the cause of the crash most times no longer exist.”

Fenton has another legislative proposal that would increase penalties for drivers who try to flee from police and trigger a pursuit.

Fenton was on the task force but said Thursday he didn’t sign the group’s report because he found it was not proactive enough in finding ways to identify vehicles with equipment problems that could render them unsafe. The state’s automobile safety inspection law sunsets at the end of this year.  

Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, is the prime sponsor of a measure that would increase penalties for aggravated driving while intoxicated and for refusing to consent to a test to measure alcohol levels.

It can be more difficult to convict someone of drunk driving if such a test hasn’t been conducted, according to the report. 

These legislative measures are still being drafted, so their exact language is not yet available.

Over 100 mph

Ayotte said she also expects legislation to be introduced to increase penalties for wrong-way drivers and people driving at excessive speeds.

“I can tell you the one ride-along I did with the State Police, what I experienced very quickly, I was shocked at how quickly we saw people going over 100 miles per hour,” she said. “And the troopers told me this is something they experience every day.”

Speeding can be a particular problem on rural roads, she added.

“Especially some of these more curvy areas, all it takes is a little speed, and you know what, that can be a tragedy,” Ayotte said.

The report found that thousands of crashes happen on state routes that go through rural areas.

N.H. Route 9, for example, which runs from Chesterfield, N.H., through Keene, N.H., to Concord and points east had 4,152 crashes from 2017 to 2023, according to the report.

State Police officers monitoring highways from airplanes saw 1,186 cars traveling above 90 mph last year and 119 above 100 mph, which compares to 559 and 36, respectively, in 2018, the report says. 

Meanwhile, speed-related fatalities increased from 34 in 2019 to 56 in 2022.

More horsepower

State Police Lt. Chris Storm, who oversees the state’s Office of Highway Safety, said changing characteristics of cars and drivers contribute to more speeding.

“Technology has changed,” he said at the news conference. “Vehicles are going a lot quicker than they used to go. And I think we’ve seen a national culture change. People really aren’t paying attention to speed limits anymore.”

Speeding seemed to increase during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when roads had little traffic, Storm said.

Fighting complacency

Formella, the attorney general, urged increased public awareness.

“It strikes me that often people think a lot more about the murders that happen in the state,” he said. “We deal with 20 to 30 murders every year. The reality though is that we are losing a lot more lives on our roads every year.”

A weekly report by the N.H. Department of Safety shows that 101 people had died in crashes in the state this year as of Monday, including 22 drivers or passengers who were not seat-belted and 13 people on motorcycles who were not wearing a helmet. 

New Hampshire does not have a mandatory helmet law for adult motorcyclists and is the only state that doesn’t require adults to wear seat belts.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.