MassDOT asks lawmakers to authorize blue lights for highway work vehicles to slow traffic in work zones

MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver told the Joint Committee on Transportation that the agency supports H.3763, legislation to amend Section 7E of Chapter 90 of the General Laws to let MassDOT apply for permits to use flashing, rotating or oscillating blue lights on vehicles actively engaged in highway work.

Gulliver said the change "would absolutely save lives," and emphasized it would be a limited, procedural step enabling MassDOT to apply for permits and develop usage policies. "This change would not in any way replace or diminish the role of law enforcement at construction sites," he said, adding that blue lights are intended to supplement police details and give drivers a clear cue to slow down.

Gulliver told legislators that the Department ran a pilot using blue lights on portable trailers at three locations and used radar to record baseline speeds. "We established baseline speeds, and we used radar readings to clearly demonstrate the use of blue lights in those work zones led to a direct decrease in vehicle speeds throughout those worksites," he said. He also described the scope of highway work in the Commonwealth: "Right now, we have nearly 700 different active construction and maintenance projects ongoing across Massachusetts. Many of them are done at night."

Gulliver recounted recent worker fatalities and injuries, naming several MassDOT employees killed while working on the roadway and saying work-zone crashes are rising: "In the last 12 months we had 659 crashes reported statewide that were work zone related. 80 resulted in an injury ... and 4 of them were fatalities." He framed H.3763 as one tool among many — including safety grants, high‑visibility apparel, signage and digital pilot projects — that could reduce speeds and improve worker safety.

Support from construction unions and contractor groups was noted in the hearing. Gulliver closed by asking the committee to move the bill favorably and offered to answer questions about implementation and policy development.

The committee did not take a final vote on H.3763 during the hearing; witnesses urged a legislative vote to allow MassDOT to apply for light permits and to develop deployment rules for high‑speed roadways.