State Sen. Wiener proposes speed governors to reduce traffic deaths in California
SAN FRANCISCO – State Sen. Scott Wiener introduced legislation aimed at reducing traffic deaths, including a proposal requiring new vehicles to have devices that would limit speeding.
At a briefing Wednesday, Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced what he called the SAFER California Streets package, in response to an increase in road fatalities in recent years.
"The alarming surge in road deaths is unbearable and demands an urgent response," the senator said in a statement.
One of the measures, Senate Bill 961, would require nearly all vehicles to have an "intelligent speed limiter system"; technology that would limit a vehicle's speed to 10 miles per hour above the posted limit, starting with the 2027 model year.
The measure would allow drivers to temporarily override the limit. Emergency vehicles would be exempt.
"There is no reason for anyone to be going over 100 miles per hour on a public road, yet in 2020, California Highway Patrol issued over 3,000 tickets for just that offense. Preventing reckless speeding is a commonsense approach to prevent these utterly needless and heartbreaking crashes," Wiener said.
Wiener cited figures that showed a rise in reckless driving in recent years, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report from TRIP, the National Transportation Research Group, found that traffic fatalities in the Golden State increased by 22% from 2019 through 2022, compared to 19% for the U.S. overall.
Meanwhile, data from the California Office of Traffic Safety found that a third of all traffic fatalities in the state between 2017 and 2021 were speeding related.
The proposal comes amid new regulations taking effect later this year in Europe, requiring vehicles there to have technology that would warn drivers about speeding. While drivers would receive audio or visual warnings or pushback from the accelerator pedal, EU regulators stressed that the driver would always be in control and can "easily override" the system.
Along with requiring speed governors, Senate Bill 961 would require the installation of side underride guards, or sideguards on trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 10,000 pounds. The guards are intended to prevent cars or bicycles from sliding under large trucks or trailers during a collision.
A second measure, Senate Bill 960, would require Caltrans to make improvements on state-owned roads aimed at protecting pedestrians, cyclists and people who rely on public transit. A similar measure approved by the legislature was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019.
According to the latest annual report by the Office of Traffic Safety, more than 4,400 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in California in 2022, or about 12 people per day.