Kathy Hochul forces mandatory speed-limiting devices into cars of prolific speeders in NY

New York drivers who have gotten 16 or more speeding tickets from cameras within a single year will be required to install a speed-limiting device in their vehicle. On Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation aimed at repeat traffic offenders. The law was passed as part of the package for the state budget. It is set to take effect in a year.

"We have to protect people and if someone is so flagrantly violating the laws that there's a callous disregard of human life—that's the only way I can describe it—there have to be consequences, have to be," Hochul said in a conference when she signed the bill into law.

The "Super Speeder Crackdown" initiative applies to violations recorded by school zone and red light cameras. Drivers who get 16 or more tickets in the system within a year’s time will be required to get the Intelligent Speed Limiter technology installed in their vehicle. The system physically prevents the car from exceeding posted speed limits by connecting to the vehicle's onboard computer and uses GPS data.

According to the New York Post, the program builds on the existing New York City school zone camera program. In the city, registered owners of a vehicle get a $50 ticket in the mail when their vehicle is caught on camera going over 10 miles per hour in one of the 750 school zone cameras in the Big Apple. The new law will target drivers who consistently get tickets but do not adjust their behavior.

"If you don't install it after 45 days, you lose your registration and you should not be on the roads if you don't care about whether or not you're going to kill somebody," Hochul said.

With the legislation, New York joins Washington State, Washington, DC, and Virginia, all of which have enacted similar measures.