DANVERS — Standing at the barracks where Trooper Kevin Trainor served, Gov. Maura Healey joined state and local officials on Wednesday to announce a statewide effort to strengthen protections against wrong-way driving. This effort comes after Trainor was killed in May while stopping a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in Lynnfield.

Trainor’s family attended the announcement at the Massachusetts State Police Danvers Barracks, where officials said the location was chosen to honor his service and sacrifice.

“We wanted to thank some very special people who are sadly no longer with us. And we wanted to stand with people who love them so much. Today is about honoring those individuals whose lives were tragically lost. And it’s about fulfilling a commitment the government has to ensure that we are doing everything we need to do to protect public safety,” Healey said.

Healey also remembered Endicott College Police Sgt. Jeremy Cole, who was killed in a wrong-way OUI crash on I-95 in 2024. His wife and Endicott College Police Chief Kerry Ramsdell were also present at the press conference.

She also mentioned Gloucester High School graduate Christopher Dailey, who was hit and killed by a wrong-way driver on Route 128 in 2025 at the age of 18. His parents and a classmate were present.

“Each of these wonderful loved people lost their lives because of wrong-way drivers. These families, their lives have been changed forever. Today is about saying ‘We’re doing everything we can to make sure it doesn’t get to this point.’ Wrong-way driving should never happen,” Healey said.

Healey said that while there were signs and systems in place, she wanted more to be done to prevent wrong-way driving.

“I want every resource, every tool, every technology deployed, used here in Massachusetts on our roadways to prevent and stop wrong-way driving because I don’t want any family to ever again be woken up in the middle of the night by the police or get a knock on their door telling them that their loved one has been killed by a wrong-way driver,” she said.

Healey announced a new wrong-way driver detection and prevention program that will go into effect statewide. She said that pavement markings would be replaced and expanded, that ramp designs would be improved when necessary, and that more signs would be placed on both ramps, both ways, and on roadways. New lit-up signs will also be introduced, and new sensors will alert law enforcement when a wrong-way driver is traveling down the road.

“This is cutting-edge technology, including a pilot of advanced detection technology for high-risk spots,” she said. “This is more than just about the rules of the road. It’s about people’s lives … Kevin, Chris, Jeremy. All of them should still be here.”

Healey said she had received word from MassDOT and the State Police that one of the newly implemented technologies had already stopped a wrong-way driver that morning.

MassDOT Undersecretary of Transportation Jonathan Gulliver was then invited to speak further about the program.

“As you just heard the governor say, there are very few incidents on our highways that are more dangerous than wrong-way drivers … A single wrong-way entry has the potential to impact dozens of lives in the matter of seconds,” Gulliver said.

He said a multi-phased wrong-way driver prevention system has been developed, which combines engineering improvements, advanced detection technology, enhanced signage and pavement markings, and improved coordination with law enforcement.

Gulliver continued that the effort would invest approximately $50 million to $75 million to improve safety across the Commonwealth at more than 400 locations, an expansion from the current 16 locations under a pilot.

“We’re utilizing our existing technology systems, so the signals that we have at many of our ramps across the state are going to be outfitted with new technology, including cameras that will create detection zones that will identify drivers going the wrong way up the ramps,” he said.

Gulliver said it was this system, which was activated last night, that detected a wrong-way driver this morning, continuing that it did exactly what they hoped.

“It flashed the illuminating wrong-way signs, it activates an audible warning, and then it automatically sends out a call to both the state police and to the MassDOT operation center, where we can coordinate on an appropriate response,” he said.

The driver, after being alerted, turned themself around without incident.

Gulliver also said expansions were already underway to install flashing signage further down the road to alert the public to a wrong-way driver, and that a system was being tested to deliver alerts via driving apps.

Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble then spoke, first remembering Trainor.

“Kevin’s actions undoubtedly saved lives that night. And just two weeks later, one of Kevin’s classmates from the academy, a fellow trooper assigned right here to the Danvers barracks, and a close friend of Kevin’s, intercepted another wrong-way driver and was struck in the process. Thankfully, the trooper survived,” Noble said.

Noble said that since 2024, the state police have responded to 680 reports of wrong-way drivers across the Commonwealth, with Danvers ranking among the top 10 communities for these incidents.

“Massachusetts State Troopers willingly accept the risks that come with this profession. They raise their right hand, knowing they may be called upon to place themselves in harm’s way to protect others, just like every police officer does. That is what we do. But our troopers and police officers should not be the only line of defense against wrong-way drivers. We need the public’s help,” he said.

He said that, through partnership, vigilance, and a shared commitment to safety, wrong-way driving and the tragedies that result from it can be prevented.

State Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) spoke, calling Wednesday a “landmark day in Massachusetts.”

He said that wrong-way driving was one of the greatest threats to public safety on roadways and brings tragedies.

“Now we know that it’s impossible to say that we can absolutely prevent incidents of wrong-way driving. But we also know that there are a tremendous number of things that we can do that will reduce the odds of another tragedy on the roads of Massachusetts,” he said.

Tarr then introduced Chief Ramsdell, who has been leading efforts to prevent wrong-way driving. She spoke about the loss of Sgt. Cole and all who don’t make it home.

“We simply need to do more to prevent these tragedies. Sgt. Cole will live forever in our memories as a loving husband and a father of four,” she said, noting his dedication to the students of Endicott College.