Nonemergency government vehicles in Washington, D.C., could be limited to driving under 40 mph within city limits as lawmakers seek to crack down on speeding violations in the district.
Under a new proposal introduced Thursday by Councilwoman Elissa Silverman, government-issued vehicles would be required to install speed reducers that would restrict cars from driving faster than 40 mph unless there is a “demonstrated need” to go faster. The bill would not apply to emergency vehicles such as police cars or firetrucks but rather to cars operated by city government agencies.
DRIVERS IN DC COULD SEE STIFFER PENALTIES FOR TRAFFIC CAMERA VIOLATIONS UNDER COUNCIL PROPOSAL
“Speed kills,” Silverman said. “A pedestrian hit by a car going 50 miles per hour has just a 20% chance of surviving. Lowering the speed of the car by just 10 miles per hour, to 40 miles per hour, doubles the odds of the pedestrian surviving.”
Silverman’s bill is the latest effort by lawmakers to crack down on reckless driving within the district.
“Traffic safety has been a huge concern for residents all over the district, and what Councilmember Silverman has said is, ‘We can issue citations, we can ticket people, we can fine people. But ultimately, we have to change driver behavior,’” David Connerty-Marin, spokesman for Silverman’s office, told the Washington Examiner. “This is an example of where we can actually impact behavior by simply making it impossible to go above a certain speed.”
The city owns and operates more than 6,000 vehicles, with about half of these being designated nonemergency vehicles that roam the city every day to transport employees and city supplies to different agencies. However, Silverman argued these types of vehicles “do not need to be driving quickly.”
It’s not entirely clear how much it would cost to ensure all 3,000 nonemergency government vehicles in the district have speed reducers installed. Several of the vehicles already have the devices installed, according to Connerty-Marin, making it a matter of just activating them.
For those that do not have them installed, Silverman’s office has argued they are “relatively cheap” and that the materials would likely be covered by the overall cost of the legislation.
The proposal is modeled after similar efforts in New York City, which recently implemented a pilot program seeking to use intelligent speed limiters that adjust a car’s maximum speed based on the speed limit of the road a driver is on. If successful, the city could require all 30,000 of its government vehicles to install the systems by 2024 — and lawmakers are eyeing extending that requirement to all new vehicles registered in the state.
Silverman’s bill follows other proposals from lawmakers seeking to crack down on speeding in the district, such as the Automated Traffic Enforcement Effectiveness Amendment Act of 2022 introduced by Councilwoman Christina Henderson last month. Under that bill, the district government would revise its penalties for traffic violations caught by cameras to issue not only fines to drivers but also add points to their driving records.
Lawmakers also established new speed limits on some of the district’s busiest roads, reducing speed limits from 30 mph to 25 mph. Other busy roadways are expected to see reduced speed limits in the coming weeks.
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“Everybody’s trying to get at the very real issue that is concerning to residents all around the district and trying to attack it from different angles,” Connerty-Marin said. “There’s enforcement and then there are other measures we can take, and this is one of those that we think can be part of the solution.”
The Speed Limiters Amendment Act of 2022 is expected to be referred to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, although it has not been scheduled for a hearing.
