A new Virginia law will allow judges to require intelligent speed assistance devices for people with repeat reckless driving offenses. Advocates are pushing for similar policies in other states.
In Brief:
- Reckless drivers could be required to use speed-limiting technology in their vehicles under a new law in Virginia.
- Similar bills have been filed in half a dozen other states.
- Supporters say the technology can prevent deaths and injuries by forcing speeding drivers to slow down.
Last month, a driver who’d collected nearly 100 traffic violations in the previous two years killed a mother and two of her children while they were taking a walk in their Brooklyn neighborhood. Among the driver’s violations were 18 infractions for speeding in a school zone. The driver’s license being suspended didn’t stop her from reportedly driving more than double the posted speed limit on the section of Ocean Parkway where the crash occurred.
Incidents like those, which result in thousands of deaths a year in the United States, demand new ways of reining in the most reckless drivers, some lawmakers say.