By: ALAYSIA EZZARD
Capital News Service
On Oct. 1, the Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act went into effect in Maryland.
Senate Bill 590 makes adjustments to what constitutes reckless, aggressive and negligent driving. Drivers convicted of these offences face increased maximum fines and even possible jail time for reckless driving.
“The purpose of this law change is not to put people in jail or not to take their licenses away, but it’s to hold them accountable… even just with some probation or some driver improvement classes that a judge can enact to keep the roadway safe,” said Lt. Patrick Kepp, for whom the bill is named.
Reckless driving is the most serious of the offenses covered by the bill and is defined as operating a motor vehicle “in wanton or willful disregard for the safety of persons or property.” With the passage of the bill, driving 30 miles per hour or more over the speed limit can now be considered reckless driving and an accused driver must appear in court and can face a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 60 days in jail.
A driver convicted of reckless driving will have six points assessed against their license and could have an additional six points assessed if they were driving 30 mph or more over the speed limit. Because of the change, a convicted driver could have their license revoked for six months or more.
“What I want to do as the author of the legislation is give it one year to see what happens,” said Del. Greg Wims (D-Montgomery), a sponsor for the bill. “Hopefully, we’ll see that the speeding has decreased somewhat and that, of course, no life has been lost, hopefully anywhere in the state of Maryland.”
Negligent driving is defined as driving a motor vehicle “in a careless or imprudent manner” that endangers property or life. The penalties now include an increase of the maximum fine to $750 and the MVA will assess two points, three if the offense contributes to an accident.
The definition for aggressive driving has expanded to include 12 additional traffic offenses, including the failure to follow or avoid a traffic control device, passing a school vehicle that’s stopped with its flashing red lights on, failing to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk, passing a car that is stopped for pedestrians in a crosswalk and other offenses. The bill increases the maximum fine for aggressive driving to $1,000.
The Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act was introduced in January and was approved by Gov. Wes Moore in May.
Kepp is a Montgomery County police officer who was struck by a vehicle that was being operated in a negligent manner in October 2023. The perpetrator, Raphael Mayorga, was a repeat offender and was sentenced to 22 years in prison at the end of August, according to court records.
Due to the accident, Kepp had both of his legs amputated, but this didn’t stop him from getting back to work, something very important to him.
“The support from the law enforcement community…, I got to see that firsthand and to be able to give back to all those people, not just in the Montgomery County Police Department, but across the state, across the country, that have supported me, it was really important,” said Kepp. “I felt obligated to come back, continue to do the job in whatever capacity I could.”
He was promoted to Lieutenant on Oct. 5 and he is the Deputy Commander of District 3.
In Maryland, speeding accidents from 2019 to 2023 have fallen, but fatal accidents have increased from 72 in 2019 to 95 in 2023. There were 101 fatalities from speeding-related accidents in 2020.
In that same year, Brett Richard Badin, was fatally struck by a car while crossing the street in Montgomery County. Three years later, his mom and chair of the Transportation Committee of the Greater Olney Civic Association, Mindy Badin, was a witness for the Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act.
Prior to the passing of her son, aggressive driving wasn’t much on her radar, but now she’s more aware. Nearly every time she drives to the cemetery to visit her son, she experiences tailgating or a car following too close to another vehicle.
“It’s very unsettling,” said Badin. “Having had this horrendous loss in my family and then seeing firsthand these very very reckless drivers and aggressive drivers.”
Accidents involving an aggressive driver also decreased between 2019 and 2023, though the number of fatal accidents increased from 37 in 2019 to 55 in 2023.
Since her son’s death, Badin has been and will continue advocating for safer roads in Maryland.
“We all need to look out for each other on the roads,” said Badin. “I just hope that by me testifying for safer bills, for working for safer roads, that no other families have to go through what ours went through.”
