Top Highway Safety Official Has Terrible Driving Record

In order to run an organization dedicated to highway safety, it should probably be a foregone conclusion that a prospective candidate should have a good driving record.

That's not the case in Massachusetts, where an investigation conducted by the Boston Globe revealed Sheila Burgess, the director of the state's highway safety division, had 32 entries on her driving record since 1984.

Those included seven accidents, four speeding violations, two failure-to-stop-for-an-officer citation and one failure-to-wear-a-seat-belt mark.

Burgess will be reassigned to a different role, a statement from the state's Office Of Public Safety said Monday. She has been on medical leave, recovering from a head injury sustained in a one-car accident on Aug. 24. Burgess had been head of the highway safety division since 2007.

"Given her driving record, it is clear that Ms. Burgess should not have been hired as the director of Highway Safety in 2007," said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Mary Elizabeth Heffernan.