New bill hopes to curb dangerous driving on DC streets
Legislation introduced Monday would offer District agencies stricter enforcement power against repeat offenders in an effort to reduce dangerous driving.
The Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education and Responsibility, or STEER Amendment Act of 2023, would strengthen and streamline suspending licenses for repeat DUI offenders.
The bill introduced by Council member Charles Allen requires any sentencing judge to immediately order the department of motor vehicles to suspend a license after a third DUI conviction in five years.
It would also require the DMV to send reports to the court, attorney general and Committee on Transportation and the Environment listing suspensions.
The move comes after the DMV did not suspend the license of a woman accused of causing a head-on crash that killed three people on Rock Creek Parkway in March.
D.C. Deputy Mayor Lucinda Babers, who oversees the DMV, said last May that the department did not know about the woman’s previous driving record and had her office known, “they could have suspended (her) license.”
That driver had three prior DUIs and thousands of dollars worth of speeding tickets but the DMV didn’t revoke her license.
The agency has blamed the D.C. Superior Court, saying it did not receive notices of convictions. The court said that it successfully transmitted the proper information.
The legislation would allow targeted towing and booting against drivers who have accumulated numerous tickets within six months:
- Eight or more tickets for speeding 10 mph or less over the speed limit
- Six or more tickets for speeding 11 mph or more over the speed limit
- Two or more tickets for reckless driving (20-plus mph over the speed limit)
- One or more tickets of aggravated reckless driving (30-plus mph over the speed limit)
- One or more tickets for displaying fake temporary or permanent tags
The STEER Act also tackles fake car tags by closing a potential loophole by banning fake permanent tags that are mounted to a vehicle. Currently, D.C. law only bans displaying fake temporary tags.
If passed, it gives authority to the Office of the Attorney General to bring civil suits against drivers, as well.
The legislation would also redefine the “reckless driving” citation. The bill sets reckless driving to any time a driver goes 20 mph or more over the speed limit.
This new bill comes in conjunction with a bill from At-Large Council member Christina Henderson.
Henderson’s bill would suspend the license and registration of vehicles owned by drivers who are arrested for violations and keep them off the road during what can be a lengthy court process.