ALBANY — State Sen. Anthony Palumbo went from "government overreach" to reaching across the aisle in a single day.
The Republican from Suffolk told Streetsblog early in the week that he opposed one of the street safety movement's biggest legislative priorities this session, the “Stop Super Speeders” (S4045/A2029) bill. The legislation would require the installation of speed-limiting devices inside the cars of people with six or more speed-camera infractions in any 12-month period.
Less than 24 hours later, it appeared that Palumbo (R-Riverhead) was a supporter.
What happened? Therein lies a great story…
Co-sponsored by Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge) and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher (D-Greenpoint), the Stop Super-Speeders bill has a lot momentum, partly due to a fatal crash in Brooklyn earlier this year that would have been prevented had the bill already become law.
But there's also a considerable pushback to the bill from lawmakers who either don't think six speeding tickets in a year is very much or who simply don't like government mandates.
Palumbo was in that camp.
“I don’t like that,” said the former Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney. “There could be emergency situations [when you need] to go over the speed limit — a domestic violence situation, someone’s coming after you, or whatever it may be.
“And," he added, mysteriously, "I just don't like Big Brother. That's a little too much for me.”
He said he prefers regular enforcement and punishment.
"As a former prosecutor who handled a million aggravated unlicensed operation [prosecutions], ultimately what you do is just suspend their license,” he said.
Streetsblog reminded him that many people drive even after their licenses have been suspended. (The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators has estimated that three-quarters of drivers with a suspended license continued to operate a vehicle, too). But Palumbo doesn't agree.
“I think that’s inaccurate,” he said.
Streetsblog reminded Palumbo that the state currently mandates the use of ignition lock devices for drunk drivers, but he called such devices "appropriate" because they represent a sanction pursuant to an alcohol-related offense."
But he continued to insist that speed limiters — which are mandatory for new cars sold in the European Union and were approved in Washington State this week — sounded “theoretical."
"It's kind of something that we do and have these flashy press conferences about it, ‘This is fantastic, yeah,’ and there's nothing to it,” he said.
It's not as if Palumbo is entirely unaware of safety issues, but he sees it though the eyes of enforcement, rather than engineering. He has already signed onto the Idaho Stop bill and the Defined Safe Passing bill.
The very same night, Streetsblog encountered Palumbo at the Albany hot spot Dove & Deer, where he was dining with Assembly Member Michael Durso (R-Nassau/Suffolk), and we agreed to talk more.
The next afternoon, Palumbo said he supported the Stop Super Speeders bill as long as it is "crafted in a way that it achieves its intended goal.”
Fortunately, at that very moment, Gounardes was sitting on a couch in the Senate lobby (where "lobbying really does happen). Streetsblog suggested to Palumbo that he put his questions about the bill to the bill's sponsor. Gounardes closed the deal.
Palumbo (to Gounardes): My only concern is, how do we enforce it?
Gounardes: Same as ignition lock.
Palumbo: But you're monitored by court, then, because you have probation or a conditional discharge where you come back to court and then the judge has some sort of teeth into it. If it's just these administrative adjudications for speed cameras, who’s the monitoring agency?
Gounardes: It’s a court order on this one as well. We mimicked the ignition lock process and procedure. It's a court order. You have to show proof that you installed it. If you're caught driving without it, just like if you're caught driving without an ignition lock, you face an additional misdemeanor charge. Same exact parallels. We tried to line it up as much one to one as possible.
Palumbo: OK. And what is the court proceeding? Would it be criminal court?
Gounardes: Yeah.
Palumbo: What would the initial charge be? That’s the only nuance. An interlock is a DWI. But I like the idea.
Palumbo then put on his glasses and began to read the bill on his cell phone, murmuring to himself.
He seemed to be an almost-complete convert: “I have no problem with taking cars away from people," he told Streetsblog. "You understand what I’m saying? I’m more than happy to hammer them.”
Makes sense, given how reckless drivers are hammering the rest of us. The city Department of Transportation reported recently that 21 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes in the city involved a vehicle that got six or more speed or red light camera tickets the prior year. And speed limiters have been shown to reduce traffic deaths by 37 percent.
It would have certainly reduced deaths this year by at least three — the mother and two children who were killed on Ocean Parkway in March by Miriam Yarimi. The Brooklyn wigmaker and influencer had accrued enough speeding tickets to warrant the installation of a speed-limiting device in her Mercedes, and was indeed speeding and driving with a suspended license when she slammed into the family.
