Two New York City lawmakers are behind a push to get tough with speed limiters for the city’s worst-of-the-worst speeding offenders.
Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly member Emily Gallagher, both Brooklyn Democrats, have unveiled a proposal to require certain drivers to have speed limiters installed on their vehicles.
Specifically, drivers in New York City with at least six speed-camera violations over 12 months or drivers with at least 11 points on their driver’s license within 18 months would be required to have a speed limiter.
Currently, the city’s speed cameras do not issue citations unless a vehicle is traveling at least 11 mph above the posted speed.
An intelligent speed assistance device would be able to prevent vehicles from traveling more than 5 mph above the speed limit. The device is able to determine the speed limit in a specific zone or highway.
The proposal calls for a speed limiter to be installed on a vehicle for 12 months.
“We feel this is a way to keep our streets safer, as well as forcing people to slow down,” Gounardes said during a news conference.
Radical idea: if you’re speeding recklessly time and time again (and time and time and time and time again), you should have to drive with a speed regulator to force you to drive the speed limit.
Under my new proposal, we can force the most dangerous drivers to drive safely. https://t.co/DIQljLGRqX
— Andrew Gounardes (@agounardes) August 1, 2023
Related bill from 2022
Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, introduced a related bill during the previous legislative session. His pursuit sought to require any passenger vehicle manufactured beginning in 2024 and registered in the state to be equipped with technology intended to improve roadway safety.
All new passenger vehicles would be required to include intelligent speed assistance, or flexible speed governors, advanced emergency braking, emergency lane keeping systems, drowsiness and distraction recognition technology, and rear-view cameras.
Additionally, passenger vehicles weighing more than 3,000 pounds would be required to limit blind spots. Standards would be required to address direct visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users from the driver’s position.
Although the focus of the safety requirements was to address traffic-related deaths in New York City, the mandates would have applied to vehicles throughout the state.
The bill failed to advance killing it for the year. LL
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