In response to the heartrending incident that claimed the lives of a Brooklyn mother and her two children, New York lawmakers are urgently propelling a "Stop Super Speeders" bill, intended to rigorously regulate those with a history of dangerous driving. The proposed legislation, if passed, would compel repeat offenders to equip their vehicles with intelligent speed assistance technology to curb their ability to exceed speed limits.
The tragic accident, which also left the woman's son in critical condition, might serve to finally push through the bill that has languished in Albany for years. As reported by Gothamist, the legislation targets drivers who have received either 11 or more points on their license within 24 months or those who have been issued six speeding or red-light camera tickets within a year. "It’s no longer simply enough to shake our heads in despair when these preventable tragedies occur — it’s time for us to act," State Sen. Andrew Gounardes emphasized in a statement obtained by Gothamist.
A gathering at Brooklyn Borough Hall solidified the commitment of various officials, including Gounardes and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, alongside city Comptroller Brad Lander and members of Families for Safe Streets. In a stark reminder of the stakes, Gothamist quoted Joann Perahia, who knows the devastation of traffic violence firsthand, saying, "I definitely believe these super speeders — really, they’re criminals. They should not be allowed to drive, they really shouldn’t. I think [the city] is being nice.”
At the other end of the debate, Republican Assemblyman Michael Novakhov expressed concerns to Streetsblog that the bill's threshold for triggering the speed-limiting device installation — six red-light or speed violations within a year — is too low. “Any driver can get much more than six … Sometimes you don’t see the camera. Sometimes there are situations where you have to speed up a little bit. To be honest with you, I’m against the cameras because we have too many," Novakhov told Streetsblog. His stance presents a potential hurdle as lawmakers aim to quickly advance the bill within this legislative session, as reported by the New York Post.
In an additional effort to stem the tide of reckless driving, Lander lamented the expiration of the "Reckless Driving Act" — a city-level measure that allowed for the impounding of vehicles from repeat speeders. Citing the urgency of the situation, Lander pointed to the car in the fatal Brooklyn crash: “We passed (the act) in New York City to give us the power to impound the cars of reckless drivers, but unfortunately, that legislation was allowed to expire, and would have applied to this car,” he stated at the news conference, as noted by New York Post.
