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NYC lawmakers push ‘super speeder’ bill after Brooklyn crash kills mom, 2 kids
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Apr 1, 2025
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Giulia Heyward/Gothamist
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Apr 1, 2025
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A handful of New Yorkers and elected officials are pressuring the state to pass legislation that would put “speed limiters” on cars belonging to drivers who have been repeatedly stopped for speeding.
The bill — also known as the “Stop Super Speeders” legislation — has already spent years languishing in Albany without the support needed to pass. The standstill around the legislation persists even as data indicated New Yorkers were more likely to die in traffic crashes than in shootings last year — the second year in a row that auto deaths have outpaced gun deaths in the city.
The renewed pressure on passing the “Stop Super Speeders” bill comes days after a driver with a suspended license fatally struck a mother and her two daughters while the family was crossing a street in Brooklyn. A fourth victim — the woman’s son — is in critical condition in the hospital.
The tragic incident over the weekend could be the catalyst for the bill to finally pass, providing the pressure needed to get to the top of what Brooklyn Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said is often hundreds of thousands of bills stuck in limbo.
“A lot of what happens when it comes to getting a bill to the top of the list is really through a movement and folks fighting for the bill,” said Gallagher, who is also one of the bill’s sponsors.
She and others, including bill co-sponsor state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and city Comptroller Brad Lander, gathered at a press conference on the steps of Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn on Monday. She and other elected officials stood alongside members of Families for Safe Streets demanding the bill’s swift passage.
Joann Perahia holding up a photo of her son, Phillippe Haussmann, who died after being hit by a box truck.
Giulia Heyward/Gothamist
One of the members was Joann Perahia, a woman whose son, Phillippe Haussmann, died after being hit by a box truck. Perahia said her mother was also struck by a car, though she survived the incident.
She said the bill is another step in pressuring the city to hold reckless drivers more accountable.
“I definitely believe these super speeders — really, they’re criminals," Perahia said. "They should not be allowed to drive, they really shouldn’t. I think [the city] is being nice.”
Gallagher also pointed to the implementation of Sammy’s Law, which the city is using to slow down the speed limit in certain parts of the five boroughs, among other recent safety measures.
Under the bill, intelligent speed assistance technology would be placed on the vehicles of drivers who accrue 11 or more points on their license in a 24-month period, or who receive six speed camera or red-light camera tickets in a year.
“It’s no longer simply enough to shake our heads in despair when these preventable tragedies occur — it’s time for us to act,” Gounardes said. “The senselessness of this most recent crash is compounded by the fact that this car had dozens of speed and red light violations, and the driver had a suspended license."
The legislation is similar to the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Act, which would’ve required drivers with repeat red light or speeding tickets to take safety classes or risk losing their car. But despite that bill’s passage years earlier, it was never successfully implemented.
The legislation also mirrors existing state law requiring an “ignition interlock device” on vehicles of drivers previously convicted of drunk driving.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office declined to comment.
Tagged
new york city
new york state
Politics
public safety
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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