Cape Driving Menace Hits Ambulance Head-on

What Does it Take to Lose Your License in Massachusetts?

I suppose it's hard to stand out as a particularly bad driver in the Bay State, as it's full of roadway menaces, but Michael Gomes has achieved this dubious distinction.

On Friday, Gomes, 43, managed to smash head-on into an ambulance in Orleans. Everyone else had pulled over after seeing the flashing lights, according to the Cape Cod Times. An EMT was badly injured.

What keeps "drivers" like Gomes on the road? After all, just take a look at his record:


(Cape Cod Times- Karen Jeffrey- 15 March 2005)

According to Registry records, Gomes was convicted of drunken driving in 2002 and 1998. In both instances he was ordered into an alcohol education program.

Gomes' driving history also includes:

Suspension of his license in 1988 as a result of receiving three speeding tickets in a 30-day period.

Being found at fault in a 1987 accident in Hanover.

A 1998 citation for failure to stay in marked lanes.

Being found responsible for a 1999 accident in Yarmouth.

Failure to use a child restraint in 2001.

Failure to use seat belt twice in 2000 and once in 2001.

His driving record also includes citations for failure to use safety, failure to pay excise tax and attaching improper plates to a vehicle.

In January he was given a suspended sentence after being convicted in Orleans District Court of assault and battery, and violation of the abuse prevention act.

The kicker: he can apply to have his license reinstated through appeal! How did he not permanently lose it before? How could he possibly be allowed to drive again?

His ten-year-old daughter was also not wearing a seat belt at the time of the wreck.

To make matters worse, horrible drivers like Gomes are subsidized by good ones under the Bay State's weird auto insurance system. That's why rates are so high.

Anything short of a long prison sentence and permanent license revocation for Gomes would be a crime committed against all Bay State residents.