On Tuesday, March 18th, the Georgia House Motor Vehicles Committee met to discuss S.B. 160, a bill that would require drivers convicted for a second reckless driving offense to install speed-limiting devices in their automobiles.
The bill stalled in the House Motor Vehicles committee on a vote of 5-5.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, said the bill’s goal is to curb repeat offenses involving drag racing, distracted driving, and driving under the influence.
According to Georgia Highway Safety’s 2022 traffic data there were 1,797 traffic fatalities statewide. Of those, 507 involved an impaired driver, and 422 were speed related.
The most recent statewide data is from 2022.
Under current law, vehicles involved in a second reckless driving offense are considered contraband and are subject to confiscation. Senate Bill 160 eliminates this provision, instead allowing courts to install what is known as an “intelligent speed assistance device.”
The device would cap a vehicle’s speed at 70 miles per hour. Offenders would be required to install it at their own expense within 10 days of a court order. Operating a vehicle without the device would be punishable as a criminal misdemeanor.
The device, according to Sen. Kirkpatrick, costs roughly $100 in total and $1 in daily fees. Courts would have discretion to impose this penalty based on the severity of the offense.
Kirkpatrick said the device makes it easier for law enforcement to track instead of a notation on an offender’s driver’s license.
“If you connect it to the license and not the vehicle, it becomes a much more complicated process with the Department of Drivers Services, and that’s why we- as a place to start- track it to the vehicle so it will go through the Department of Revenue rather than the Department of Drivers Services.” Kirkpatrick said.
Rep. Alan Powell, R- Hartwell, had concerns over the bill, pointing out the issues of offenders driving other vehicles than the one the device is installed in.
“In context, right now, we take the car and its forfeiture. But now we’re saying ‘Hey, you gotta put something in the vehicle you were driving, not anyone else’s car in the house,’ this doesn’t follow the offender; it follows the car.”
Georgia has previously installed devices in vehicles, according to Marietta Police Department Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy. He compared the process to issuing an ignition interlock device. McPhilamy said law enforcement supports using technology if it leads to safer roads.
“If the Courts are now talking about utilizing technology as another way to create that safe environment, especially without the need of enforcement where tickets would be written, then certainly law enforcement would applaud those efforts,” he said.
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