NYC Considering Placing Speed Limiter On Offending Vehicles
A new law proposed by state lawmakers in New York City could potentially revoke the speeding privileges of drivers repeatedly caught by traffic cameras. State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assembly member Emily Gallagher introduced the bill at an event in Brooklyn, where they selected the intersection where a tragic accident occurred in April, resulting in the death of 31-year-old Katherine Harris, caused by a speeding driver.
Under the proposed legislation, drivers who receive six or more tickets from speed cameras or red light cameras within a year, or accumulate 11 points on their license in an 18-month period, would be subjected to a court order mandating the installation of a speed limiting device in their vehicles.
This speed governor would reduce the maximum speed of the vehicle to either 30 mph (48 km/h) or 5 mph (8 km/h) over the city’s speed limit. The inspiration for this program comes from the ignition interlock devices already mandated for drivers convicted of driving under the influence in New York state.
If the bill passes, New York would be the first state in the U.S. to require the installation of a speed governor on vehicles. Another separate bill introduced last year aims to make speed governors mandatory in all new vehicles registered in New York State by 2024.
The main objective of these new rules is to address the behavior of what Gounardes calls the worst three percent of the city’s drivers. These drivers receive multiple tickets but do not alter their behavior, as traffic cameras only capture the vehicle’s information, not the driver’s, which spares them from receiving points on their license and facing license restrictions.
Gounardes emphasized that there is a persistent group of drivers who accumulate numerous speeding tickets and continue to drive recklessly without facing significant consequences, resulting in just fines as a penalty.
While the fate of the bill is uncertain, given past resistance to similar measures, New York City is currently experiencing an increase in traffic-related fatalities. According to NYPD statistics, as of 2023, 131 people have already lost their lives in traffic accidents in the city, and these numbers have been rising since 2018. Additionally, the entire U.S. is facing historically high rates of on-road deaths.
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