A new Washington State bill could help end the speed. Similar invoices spread across the country.
I will never forget the night I received the call that changed my life and broke my family.
“Your son is in the USI and he’s not going to do it,” they told me.
I was amazed and devastated. My son, Josh, from Seattle, was only 27 years old and had a name as a musician, when he was struck by a driver in disregarding traversing 100 miles per hour in a residential street.
None of us are immune to this type of random tragedy. But we can do much more to prevent this type of insane loss of life.
This is why I joined the victim’s defense group Families for safe streets And why we support invoices across the country to stop the Super Speeders. There are currently invoices in a half a dozen states This would allow the most dangerous class of drivers – drivers with multiple speed convictions, reckless races or driving that are disproportionately responsible for causing fatal accidents – to continue driving with a special special permit, provided that their vehicle is equipped with intelligent speed assistance (ISA), which automatically prevents the vehicle from exceed GPS.
Here in the state of Washington, I joined other families in mourning to return House Bill 1596Who passed the 84-12 room until Wednesday to pass the Senate.
HB 1596 would allow reckless condemned drivers of driving, or three or more mobile violations, of which an excessive speed is excessive speed, to install and use the technology which limits the speed of a motor vehicle as a function of the applicable speed limits, instead of the license suspension.
If it had been implemented earlier and more broadly in the United States, this type of ISA rules could have saved Josh’s life. Fortunately, the idea is to gain support.
In 2024, the Columbia district adopted legislation requiring devices limiting speed for drivers with license suspensions related to speed. Since then, Virginia and Georgia have both approved similar legislation, with the support of families for safe streets and its coalition. People in the whole country support this effort and signing This petition This obtained nearly 12,000 signatures in just a few days.
Reckless race and driving are increasing in Washington. Over the past five years, the drivers cited to drive more than 50 mi / h above the speed limit has increased by 50%, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
It was the kind of accident that stole Josh in his life in a fraction of a second.
HB 1596 would allow these dangerous drivers to obtain a limited driving license, which would always allow them to work and be mobile, while improving safety overall. Seventy percent of people with suspended licenses continue to drive. The bill would guarantee that they would be required to drive in complete safety.
No family should never miss a loved one in the table. The inaction on this problem is unbearable. I urge the Washington State legislature to act now, to pass HB 1596 and make our roads safer for everyone.
Families for safe streets is a national organization that supports parents and family members who have lost dear beings because of traffic accidents or who have suffered life injury.
