New law outlaws nitrous oxide in vehicles

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Bobby Harrison
Source: nems360.com
Jackson, MS - Lisa Hood of Union County says she hopes legislation signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour on Thursday will save others from the pain her family has suffered for almost the past year.
The legislation bans vehicles from using nitrous oxide, which can be used to enhance their performance, as a fuel on public roads and also has specific penalties for those who race on public roads.

Hood's husband, Steve Hood, was killed in May 2009 while pursuing a vehicle that was modified to run on nitrous oxide. The accident occurred on state Highway 370 near the Prentiss-Lee County line.

Lisa Hood personally lobbied the Legislature to pass the bill, which was named the "Trooper Steve Hood Act: The Nitrous Prohibition Act" and takes effect July 1.

"I think this is a wonderful step to get all of those who choose to run at a high rate of speed off the road," Hood said by phone after Barbour had signed the legislation. "Hopefully it will spare others from having to go through what my children and I are going through."

Hood, a 26-year veteran of the Highway Patrol who lived near Guntown, was 50 when he died. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son and twin daughters, who are all young adults.

The legislation would impose a maximum fine of $1,000 and incarceration of not more than 48 hours for a first offense. The second offense would result in a maximum fine of $1,500 and incarceration of up to one year, plus community service and a suspension of driver's license for two years.

On a third offense, the maximum penalty would be five years in prison and a fine of not more than $5,000. Plus, the person would lose his license for five years and possibly his vehicle.

The bill imposes similar penalties for those caught racing on public roads.

"There is no need for people to be operating vehicles with nitrous oxide," Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, the primary author of the bill, said earlier this session during debate of the legislation. "If they want to drag race, they can go to the drag strips and not put people's lives in danger with these nitrous oxide tanks."

According to CarzBuzz magazine, Mississippi is the 39th state to ban the use of nitrous oxide as a fuel on public roads.

The law takes effect July 1.