That right there, regardless of what the actual violations were, is grounds for banning at least until 21.
Here’s more, which definitely played a part in this decision:
Sentences issued by the traffic tribunal have gotten stricter since the death of Charlestown resident Colin B. Foote on May 16, 2010. Foote, 26, was killed when Westerly resident Laura A. Reale, 27, ran a red light on Route 1 in Charlestown and slammed into his motorcycle.
At the time, Reale was an habitual traffic offender who slipped through the cracks, say Foote’s family, who donned black T-shirts at her hearing on traffic offenses that read “She had 19 driving violations. Her 20th killed Colin Foote.”
Because of that death, they re-did the traffic laws with different sentences and punishments:
Guglietta handed out the maximum penalty allowed at that time — a two-year license revocation. However, her driving record included more than a dozen offenses, ranging from speeding to stop sign violations to failure to heed conditions requiring reduced speed. The General Assembly revised laws that apply to the traffic tribunal after the Reale case was adjudicated.
Think about this from the judge’s perspective. The guilt he felt when someone who has had so many traffic violations ended up killing someone. This other kid, already off to a rough start and in the judge’s mind he’s thinking “if I did this to that Laura skank, someone could still be alive today.”
In the judge’s mind, he wasn’t being an asshole or outlandish, he was trying to prevent a future death.
“I’m trying to save your life,” Sullivan yelled, looking and pointing to Topa seated next to his lawyer. On Oct. 23, the prosecutor said he was quickly notified about the crash because it was believed that one of the passengers would not survive.