'Super speeder' bill raises concerns

NASHVILLE -- A bill creating a $200 fine for "super speeder" motorists has hit a legislative pothole.

Lawmakers are raising concerns about everything from fairness and government fee grabs to angry violators overloading courts with demands for jury trials.

The House sponsor, Rep. Kevin Brooks, R-Cleveland, said he hopes to get HB 2544 back on track by "refocusing on safety" when the measure is expected to come up again Tuesday in the House Transportation Committee.

"We got sidetracked on revenue, and we got sidetracked on the courts system," said Rep. Brooks, who modeled the bill on a Georgia law that went into effect in January. "What we have to keep focusing on is this is about people driving too fast."

PDF: Fiscal analysis of House Bill 2544

As introduced, the bill would create a Class B misdemeanor carrying a $200 fine for motorists going 75 miles per hour or above on two-lane roads and 85 mph or more on four-lane state highways including interstates.

A legislative analysis estimates the bill will generate $3.76 million in annual fines based on a projected 29,300 convictions a year.

The money originally would have gone solely to hospital trauma centers, but senators now intend to make the bill apply to violators going 25 mph or more over the speed limit on any road and subject them to $200 to $500 fines.

Fine revenues, meanwhile, would be split evenly between trauma centers and the state Safety Department, which intends to use the money to modernize its data system.

Under current Tennessee law, officials said, speeding is a Class C misdemeanor carrying fines of up to $50 although fines can rise to between $250 to $500 when construction workers are present. Motorists can also now be fined up to $500 if convicted of reckless driving, which carries a Class B misdemeanor designation.

In the House Transportation Committee last week, Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga, said that, though he supports cracking down on speeders, he had concerns about quadrupling fines from $50 to $200.

"If there's any difference in the court costs, you're really, really fixing to pop into some folks," Rep. Floyd warned.

Later, he said he is "not sure where we're going with all this stuff. We need to tell folks what we're trying to do is produce a revenue stream and just be honest with people."

Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, said that if "people are getting $200 plus court costs being attached to that, there's going to be a lot of people saying, 'I'd like a jury trial, please.' And then, where does that go? Does it go on ... the county, the state?"

Officials said motorists can seek jury trials on traffic violations exceeding $50.

In response to criticism about the costs for violators, Rep. Brooks said, "just consider that this bill is about safety. If you're driving this fast on my road with my child headed in my direction, I want you stopped."

Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, a retired Chattanooga police officer, backed Rep. Brooks' point.

"I'm not concerned about the money being collected," Rep. Dean said. "That's not the issue for me. It's the safety."

Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, questioned the impact on rural counties such as those he represents.

Circuit Court judges can cover several counties, he said, and when it becomes known that violators can demand a jury trial, he cautioned, "every cotton-picking person who gets one of those tickets is going to get that thing put off. And we're going to be backing up judges and courts."

Senators have their own issues with worries about police piling on charges, state officials punishing motorists with additional punitive points on their driving records and insurance companies piling on additional costs to offenders.

Some questioned why the current reckless driving statutes can't cover the "super speeders."

The problem, said sponsor Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, is a state Supreme Court case that has ruled a reckless driving conviction cannot be based on high speed alone.

"There's a case that says if you're simply driving down the interstate at 90 mph, you simply get a speeding ticket," Sen. Johnson said. "You can't be charged with reckless driving."

But lawmakers said the Supreme Court ruling isn't stopping judges from handing down reckless driving sentences and fines based on speeding alone.

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