State of the State Exclusive: Hochul Will Push ‘Stop Super Speeders’ Bill Through Her Budget

ALBANY — This reigning governor wants to hold the reins on bad drivers.

New York City motorists with a documented pattern of excessive speeding would be required to install speed-limiting devices inside their cars under a proposed pilot that Gov. Hochul will include in her state budget — a move that takes passage of the long-sought initiative out of the legislative process where it has consistently been thwarted by pro-car lawmakers.

If it's successful, the program could be expanded to municipalities across New York to keep recidivist reckless drivers at the speed limit.

"Keeping New Yorkers safe on our streets is my highest priority — be it those in cars, parents walking their kids to school, or cyclists commuting to work," Hochul said in a statement. "We know that a disproportionate number of dangerous incidents on our roads are caused by a small group of bad actors who speed recklessly and endanger everyone's safety. Now, we are taking these super speeders on and, working with the City of New York, to end their fast and furious driving on our roads once and for all."

According to the governor's office, the city would have discretion over the pilot program — including what driving behavior would rise to the level of having a speed limiter installed and whether the threshold would be based on automated enforcement or by the far-less-broad effort made by police officers. Municipalities across the state would be eligible for an opt-in after reviewing the success of the program.

Newly minted city Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said he's looking forward to deploying the so-called Intelligent Speed Assistance devices, which keep cars from exceeding the speed limit.

"While most New Yorkers are responsible behind the wheel, our data shows there is a small number of incredibly reckless drivers who cause outsized harm, continuing to drive dangerously no matter how many traffic violations they receive—or even after their license is suspended,” Flynn said in a statement. “Intelligent Speed Assistance is a bold new idea that can stop these drivers from speeding in the first place and make their vehicles safe.”

The legislation is so crucial because drivers continue to operate their cars even if their license is suspended for excessive violations or other lapses. Speed governors allow such drivers to continue to get around, yet prevent them from doing so at reckless speeds.

Streetsblog NYC recently found that 27 percent of New York City traffic fatalities between 2019 and 2024 were caused by an unlicensed driver.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge) and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher (D-Greenpoint) have long hoped to mandate the installation of the devices inside the cars of the worst drivers.

Initially, their bill (S4045/A2299) would have required the devices in the cars of motorists with six or more camera-issued speeding tickets and/or red-light tickets in 12 months. It would cap speeds at five miles above the listed speed limit while allowing increases in acceleration under certain traffic conditions.

It never advanced out of the Transportation Committee in the Assembly, and in the state Senate, it was heavily amended. By the time the state Legislature gaveled out for 2025, the bill would only apply to motorists who had been caught on camera speeding in school zones 16 times (the red-light tickets were excluded). The change meant the bill would affect fewer than 18,000 problem drivers rather than more than 150,000 as originally written.

Some lawmakers pushed back on the bill, arguing that the threshold for getting a speed-limiter was too low. Other pols said it would be difficult to enforce whether the driver actually installed the speed limiter.

Assembly Member Michael Novakhov (R-Sheepshead Bay) even suggested that it was easy for a driver to get six tickets in one year for speeding in New York City school zones, which requires a driver to be caught on camera exceeding the speed limit by 11 or more miles per hour. (Novakhov eventually endorsed the legislation only after a recidivist speeder killed a mom and her two kids in Brooklyn while driving on a suspended license received a short sentence.)

But the idea is popular elsewhere in the country. Last year, 18 state Legislatures considered similar legislation. Some, like Virginia and Washington, have even passed them.

Naturally, safe streets advocates were ecstatic to hear that this legislation would be part of Hochul's executive budget proposal.

“My family and I have lived with the suffering and agony of the loss of my sweet, beautiful son Bryan since he was killed in a crash at the age of 5 in 2006," said Families for Safe Streets New York Co-Chair Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio. "For almost 20 years, we’ve only been able to imagine what it would’ve been like to watch Bryan grow into adulthood and experience all the typical ups and downs that every New York City child should be able to take for granted."

And Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, also supported the governor's approach of putting the bill in her budget proposal.

“We’re thrilled Gov. Hochul is making the speed limiter program a priority," Furnas said. "We thank the governor for her leadership on street safety, and we look forward to working with her and the state legislature to get this done early this year.”