Is New York About To Control Your Car’s Speed?

Admittedly, New York has a problem with speeding. In some areas of the state, it's gotten so bad that officials from the New York State Legislature have changed some of the state's vehicle and traffic laws to make it easier to track down and ticket speeders.

In addition to speed cameras that are active in the state being allowed to run 24/7, now school zone speed limits in New York are in effect year-round to try and force speeders to slow down, that's in addition to potential increased financial penalties for speeders.

We also can't forget that New York State also will automatically send you a ticket if your vehicle is caught speeding through a construction zone.

If that wasn't enough, now it looks like a New York State Senator and a Member of the New York State Assembly want to take things even further against New Yorkers who drive their car too fast.

New York May Install Electronic Speed Limiters On Cars

In a recent tweet, State Senator Andrew Gounardes proposed a potentially radical idea: forcing New York drivers who speed to install electronic speed-limiting devices on their cars.

In theory, the program would work similarly to the technology that people convicted of drunk driving offenses have to follow. For speeders, they would be required to install an Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) device, at their own expense, on their car. Already in use some places in Europe, these devices would use GPS data and cameras installed on cars to determine the speed limit in an area, and then electronically prevent you from driving more than 5 MPH over the limit for the area.

If you won’t stop speeding, New York will make you. We’ve had enough.
-Andrew Gounardes

This isn't the first time that a New York City lawmaker has tried to impose these types of rules on the entire state. A bill that was introduced last year, which would require all cars in New York to have these devices, failed to advance past committee.

Most Americans Are Against Speed Limiters

It would seem that while these legislators think this is a good idea, most of the people they represent do not. A recent survey found that most Americans want the government to leave their cars alone.