Contact: Lieutenant Colonel Raymond S. White, Jr., Chief Administrative Officer, Telephone: (401) 444-1003

As of this date, there have been 57 motor vehicle and 10 pedestrian fatalities on our state’s roadways. For all of calendar year 2008, there were a total of 53 motor vehicle and 12 pedestrian fatalities. Some of the reasons for the increase in fatalities include speed, inattentiveness (including texting), driving while intoxicated, and motorists not wearing seatbelts.

With the holiday season approaching, the state’s law enforcement and highway safety leaders want to address this disturbing trend.

Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety is hosting a press conference. Joining Colonel Doherty to speak on these important issues will be the Honorable Patrick C. Lynch, Attorney General, and Chief George Kelley, III, President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association. Also in attendance will be Deputy Attorney General Gerald Coyne, Mr. Phil Kydd of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Ms. Janis Loiselle, of the Rhode Island Office on Highway Safety, Colonel Richard Sullivan, Law Enforcement Liaison, and Chief Anthony Silva of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy. The press conference will be held:

Friday, November 6, 2009 3:00 p.m. Visitor’s Center Route 295—North Lincoln, Rhode Island

Members of the media are invited to this press conference. We are requesting your assistance to help us get an important highway safety message to the motoring public. With the holiday season approaching , we are committed to ensuring that our state’s highways are safe for our citizens and visitors to the State of Rhode Island.

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