Deuter Effort to Stop Super Speeders Passes Senate

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A bipartisan measure by state Rep. Marti Deuter, D-Elmhurst, to increase roadway safety has passed the Senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.

Deuter’s House Bill 4948 would create the Intelligent Speed Assistance Program, which aims to make our streets safer and offer a more equitable and responsive solution to excessive speeding. 

“Driving at high speeds is dangerous, plain and simple,” Deuter said. “What we’re doing is creating an option for those who have been convicted of driving at these dangerously high speeds that allows them to continue contributing to their communities while keeping our streets safer.”

Drivers who repeatedly exceed the speed limit at dangerously high speeds, known as ‘super speeders,’ make up a disproportionate number of fatal crashes. However, research shows that standard enforcement measures, such as the revocation of a driver’s license, do not stop people from driving or from speeding at dangerous levels.

Drivers with two or more convictions of excessive speeding within a 12-month period — such as driving 60 miles per hour on a residential street with a 30 mile per hour limit, or driving more than 100 miles per hour on an interstate with a 70 mile per hour limit — would have the option of participating in the program as an alternative to traditional license suspension.

Intelligent Speed Assistance is a dynamic system that limits a driver’s speed relative to the posted limits, with the system automatically adjusting the limit as the posted limit changes.

By utilizing ISA in lieu of license revocation, individuals with excessive speeding convictions are able to continue going to work, travel to see friends and family and remain part of their communities, while improving roadway safety for all users. 

“We’ve all seen the kind of speeding this program aims to address, be it someone going 100 miles per hour down the interstate or watching as a car speeds through a residential neighborhood,” Deuter said. “These super speeders threaten everyone else on the road, and that’s not okay. Whether you drive, take the bus, ride your bike or walk, you deserve to feel safe on the road.”

House Bill 4948 passed the Senate with bipartisan support on Wednesday, May 20, and now heads to the governor’s desk.