By Guy Page
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the decision to rename the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Enforcement and Safety Division as the Vermont Highway Patrol is primarily an effort to make the agency’s law-enforcement role clearer to the public. This happens to come as the movie Super Troopers 3, a comedy featuring a fictional-at-time-of-filming Vermont Highway Patrol, hits theaters.
Speaking at last Thursday’s press conference, Scott said the change also represents a return to the division’s historical roots. When Vermont’s DMV was established in 1927, he said, its enforcement component was known as the highway patrol. Unlike Vermont, Scott said, many other states use the more recognizable “highway patrol” designation rather than putting traffic enforcement under a DMV banner.
Scott argued that the old name did not adequately convey that DMV officers are law-enforcement officers. “When they see DMV, I don’t think they even care how fast they’re going,” Scott said. “They don’t respect that because they don’t think it’s enforcement. They think of it as just being the Department of Motor Vehicles, not an enforcement arm.”
The governor said putting “Highway Patrol” on enforcement vehicles should increase visibility and public awareness while also improving morale among officers. He emphasized that the change does not represent a major restructuring or expansion of authority. “Again, I just — it’s a rebranding. It’s as simple as that. There’s no more to it,” Scott said. “It builds the morale of the folks in the Highway Patrol now and brings back their roots.”
Roadwork alert – Upper Valley commuters: NHDOT will shift the current I-89 northbound lanes starting in New Hampshire onto the newly completed NB bridge over the Connecticut River beginning today through Thursday, the Journal-Opinion reports.
Northbound traffic will be reduced to one lane between the exit 20 off-ramp and the Vermont state line. Exit 20 NB on-ramp will remain open during construction. Rolling roadblocks will be deployed.
The roadway should be fully reopened by Thursday evening.