New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation aimed at the kind of driver absolutely nobody wants to defend: the ‘super speeder‘. You know the type. Sixteen speeding tickets in one year. Not one ticket. Not two. Sixteen. At that point, it is less “I was late for work” and more “my right foot has declared independence from the rest of society.”
Under New York’s new policy, these repeat offenders could be forced to install Intelligent Speed Assistance devices in their vehicles. The technology uses GPS and speed-limit data to prevent the car from exceeding the posted limit. Refuse to install it, and drivers could face steep fines and possible registration suspension.
On paper, this is the perfect political trap. Start with the incorrigibles. The worst of the worst. The road-going knuckleheads who have made themselves impossible to sympathize with. Nobody wants to stand up at a public meeting and say, “Actually, I’m here to defend the guy with 16 speeding tickets.” That person gets booed out of the room before the coffee cools.
But that is exactly why this kind of law should make everyone nervous.
The issue is not whether serial speeders are dangerous. Of course they are. The issue is whether the government should be installing control devices on privately owned vehicles. Once that principle is accepted, the argument shifts from “should government be allowed to do this?” to “who deserves it next?”
Today it is the driver with 16 tickets. Tomorrow maybe it is 10. Then five. Then anyone convicted of stunt driving. Then maybe every new car, just to be safe. After all, if the technology exists, and safety is the stated goal, why stop with the worst offenders?
Demaras Racing has warned about this before. In Safety v. Freedom: California Considers Car Speed Governors, the concern was simple: government-mandated vehicle control is a very different thing from ordinary traffic enforcement. In Washington DC Speeders May Get Governor on Car for Life, the same uncomfortable pattern appeared again. Start with the reckless drivers nobody likes, then let the policy machinery hum quietly in the background. This is the miserable part. Defending freedom often means defending it when the poster child is an idiot.
Nobody is asking for sympathy for the super speeder. Let them pay fines. Suspend their licence. Seize the car if necessary. But once the state gets comfortable putting its electronic hand on the throttle, do not act surprised when that hand starts reaching for everyone else. First they came for the super speeders. And everyone clapped, because those guys were clowns.