When it comes to keeping the roads safe, changes to driving penalties and regulations are constantly in flux by local, state, and federal governments as a response to the changing realities on the road. Reckless driving and speeding are both sources of serious injury and fatalities on the road, with the amount you speed over the speed limit directly proportional to your risk of serious injury. To respond to these drivers breaking the law, states are implementing harsher penalties in order to keep drivers in check.
Speeding endangers lives on the road
Speeding and reckless driving go hand-in-hand when it comes to endangering both your life and other road users. While not all reckless driving is speeding, speeding is a form of reckless driving. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 12,000 road fatalities were down to a speeding driver. This means that approximately one-third of all road fatalities were down to a speeding driver.
When you speed, you not only have less time to react to your surroundings on the road, but you also have an increased chance of losing control of your vehicle, especially if the roads are wet or if it is raining. You also reduce your stopping distance between another driving–increasing the risk of rear-ending the driver in front of you. While it may be tempting to peed up on the road to get to your destination faster, the risks far outweigh the benefits in the long run.
New $1,000 penalties for speeding drivers in this state
In order to crack down on speeding and reckless drivers, Connecticut has recently advanced a new piece of legislation from the House to the Senate after receiving unanimous bipartisan support. The new bill intends to target drivers who drive 100mph and above over the speed limit.
“Every day on roads and highways across Connecticut, reckless drivers are putting our families at risk…” said Attorney General William Tong.
If passed by the Senate, House Bill 07260 would see drivers caught driving in excess of 100mph be fined up to $1,000 as well as the risk of jail-time. First time offenders would be issued a fine of either $200 or $600 as well as the addition of possible 30 day jail time. Repeat offenders would thereafter be fined $1,000 as well as one year imprisonment for for each subsequent violation.
Connecticut joins the likes of other states who are passing strict legislation pieces to target reckless drivers who drive excessively over the speed limit. The addition of the risk of jail time for these drivers as an additional penalty to speeding fines ensures that drivers who are able to pay these fines are still sufficiently punished for breaking the law and endangering the lives of others.
New legislation to prepare for the future of safety on the roads
While recently legislation which cracks down on reckless driving aims to address the current realities of the road, other pieces of legislation which are currently in the works are preparing for a future which is gearing up to see autonomous vehicles. While current autonomous vehicle technology still requires a present and alert driver, companies like Tesla, Alphabet, and Amazon are currently underway piloting their fully autonomous vehicle programs.
In response to this, Texas has recently passed legislation requiring these companies to submit safety guidelines to the state regarding how these vehicles will interact with law enforcement and first responders as well as requiring companies who are piloting autonomous driving programs in the state to join a new permit system in the state beginning September 26. These legislative pieces form part of the growing conversation of the ethics behind autonomous vehicles, especially when it comes to who is held responsible in the event of a crash.
