There are certain states that are enacting laws that punish drivers who are careless by installing devices that regulate the maximum speeds of automobiles.
In recent times, Washington State has joined Virginia as the second state in the United States to pass a law that mandates the installation of speed-limiting equipment in vehicles driven by drivers who have a history of reckless driving violations. The District of Columbia also has a law that is comparable.
In May, Governor Bob Ferguson of Washington signed a law that mandates drivers whose licenses have been suspended for reckless driving to have intelligent speed assistance (ISA) devices installed on their vehicles if they wish to resume driving immediately after the suspension.
It would be possible for the anti-speeding technology to monitor the speed of the driver and prevent their vehicle from exceeding the speed limits that are in place in the area.
The regulation comes at a time when the state traffic safety commission of Washington estimated that the number of fatal accidents involving drivers who were speeding climbed by approximately forty percent between the years 2019 and 2023.
Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a nonprofit organisation based in Washington, District of Columbia, stated that similar proposals have been filed in at least five additional states attempting to crack down on repeat irresponsible drivers.
These measures are comparable to the current anti-speeding technology laws that have been passed around the country.
According to Chase, “Sometimes it just takes one state to get the momentum going,” where he was referring to the fact that legislation regarding traffic safety is often difficult. “This is a new type of measure with a newer technology in the U.S. that’s really making good progress at the state level across the country.”
D.C. was the first municipality in the United States to approve a bill prohibiting reckless driving.
The nation’s first-ever legislation to implement Intelligent Speed Assistance for drivers who continuously exceed the speed limit was passed in Washington, District of Columbia, in the year 2024.
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The Act for ‘Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility’ (STEER) is the name of the legislation that was passed at the nation’s capital to address the issue of aggressive driving. It was unanimously approved by the District of Columbia Council.
In the event that a driver is found guilty of aggravated driving or reckless aggravated driving in court, the District of Columbia authorities would have the ability to put “speed governors” on their vehicles.
While this is going on, New York City is planning to extend its ISA trial program. A recent study that involved 500 city fleet vehicles and over 2.9 million miles of driving demonstrated that ISA resulted in a decrease of 82% on high-speed roads and a decrease of 64% in overall speeding during the course of the study.
The success of the pilot program has led to the expansion of the ISA program to include 2,100 vehicles, according to officials from the city.
