NEWSLETTER
It doesn't matter how much a “clean” driver that one claims to be, is likely to be, at least once in his life to possess a driver's license, listen to the words: “Do you know why I stopped you today?”
Either five, ten or much faster above the published speed limit, speeding is a very common traffic infraction in the United States. According to the data of the New York Police Department, the largest city police in the United States issued 91,215 speeding rapes to drivers on their roads in 2024, which represents approximately 13% of all violations of Moving in the city.
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Although it seems that everyone knows someone who usually accelerates or has received a speed ticket, speed is often an important factor in accidents. According to the latest available data of the National Road Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), 28% of fatal accidents in 2022 were related to speeding, which killed 12,151 people that year.
Those figures are scary; However, legislators in this US state have a creative solution to stop the problem locally.
Washington state legislators want to use technology to stop these drivers
The state of Washington is an interesting state on the west coast. It is the home of Evergreen Trees, Mt. Rainier and Puget Sound, and is the birthplace of influential companies such as Boeing, Starbucks and amazon.
Unfortunately, there is something else in which the state of Washington is home to: problem sprinters.
According to the Washington Traffic Security Commission, fatal accidents in the state of Washington that involve speeding have been in an ascending brand since 2019. Agency 2023 shows that one in three fatal accidents in the state in the state He involved a driver of speeding. In addition, according to WTSC employee, Shelly Baldwin, speed tickets for drivers who exceeded the speed limit by more than 50 miles per hour increased by 200% between 2019 and 2024.
In an effort to stop things, state legislators presented HB 1596. This bill would allow drivers with suspended licenses to continue driving with a special “intelligent speed” license, which would use technology to restrict their speed on roads.
According to the bill, drivers will be eligible for the special license if their license has been suspended due to the accumulation of excessive moving violations (including excessive speed) or a “reckless driving conviction.”
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This bill will require conductors 'restricted at speed' to install an electronic speed governor, or what legislators call a “intelligent speed assistance device” in their cars. These devices use GPS technology to limit the driver's speed to whatever the speed limit published on a specific road they are traveling.
In addition, these devices will allow drivers to cancel the limiter three times a month if they have the need to accelerate. However, they can receive additional punishments for exaggerating. In addition, anyone who manipulates the speed limiter will be penalized with a minor crime, and the installers of these devices must approve a criminal record verification.
The bill explains that traffic laws are strict to enforce, and finding drivers who currently lead with suspended licenses is difficult in a sea of ”well -targeted drivers”; And that number is terribly common.
“According to the US motor vehicle administration, more than 70 percent of people with suspended licenses continue to drive during the suspension period,” says the bill. “By taking advantage of technology to allow people to continue driving and avoid speeding, the legislature intends to improve road safety to promote safer driving habits and keep the public safe.”
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The bill is one of several measures that Washington state legislators are pressing to reverse a disturbing increase in state roads. In 2023, traffic deaths reached a maximum of 33 years, with 809 people losing their lives on the roads of the Washington state.
“It is a multifaceted crisis that demands an emergency feeling,” the Washington state representative, Mari Leavitt, the main sponsor of the speed speed invoice. He told the Washington state standard. “This bill is a proactive solution that aims to protect the public from injury and death related to speed.”
The bill will also legally define “speeding” as speeding rapes that exceed at least 20 miles per hour on the published speed limit.
In addition, he adds that the declared conductors guilty of “excessive speed” together with other moving violations will be automatically necessary to obtain a restricted speed license and install the “intelligent speed assistance device” if they wish to continue operating a motor vehicle .
At the time of writing this article, the bill is in its early stages, since it is currently being discussed in the Transport Committee of the House of Representatives in the Washington State Legislature. However, if approved, the state of Washington will be the second state after the Commonwealth of Virginia in offering an alternative to chronic speed offenders who face their suspended license.
Thestreet contacted the representatives of the Washington state who sponsored this bill, including the main sponsor, the representative Mari Leavitt, to comment.
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