Daily Herald opinion: It can be done: Two vehicle-safety bills show lawmakers can be timely in handling some issues

As we lamented on Friday, Illinois lawmakers again failed this year to curb the practice of leaving critical legislation to the 11th hour. That is frustrating. But two unrelated but similar pieces of legislation that made it through the General Assembly this session show that leaders are capable of doing good work in a timely fashion in certain cases.

The first is a bill that passed both houses this spring creating a technology-focused option for helping control lead-footed drivers who repeatedly refuse to abide by speed laws and court orders.

As our Courts & Crime writers Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas reported, the Intelligent Speed Assistance Program enables a driver whose license has been suspended for twice violating speed limits by 26 mph or more could get permission to continue driving with an approved speed-control device installed in his or her vehicle. The cost of installation and monthly fees must be paid by the driver.

Democratic state Rep. Martha Deuter of Elmhurst told our writers that suspensions and revocations alone do not prevent people from driving.

“License suspensions as a tool to eliminate speeding doesn’t work,” she said.

Technology may help.

It doesn’t guarantee success, of course. Sanctioned drivers are not required to apply for the device, and even if they have it installed on one vehicle, nothing can stop them from driving a different vehicle. But it does insert an additional level of management that can allow some drivers to better control their behavior on the roads.

Noting that speeding is a factor in nearly half the fatal crashes in Illinois, Nick Jarmusz, director of public affairs for AAA, said the legislation offers authorities one more tool to address the problem.

“We have to use all the tools available to us to push those numbers (of fatalities) down,” he said.

In another safety-related arena, lawmakers also pushed through much-needed additional regulations on high-speed electric bikes, scooters, unicycles and skateboards. The bill expands on existing laws governing low-speed vehicles, but the bill that passed the Senate in April creates a new tier of regulations that approach e-bikes and other such devices capable of traveling faster than 28 mph more like motorcycles, allowing them only on roads and requiring a driver’s license, insurance and registration. The bill also adds more restrictions on lower-speed e-vehicles.

The House did not move the legislation until last week, and curiously included an unwise provision establishing DUI penalties only when vehicles are traveling faster than 28 mph. And Republican House Minority Leader Toni McCombie expressed a valid concern that the legislation did not reach far enough to include utility terrain vehicles.

Even so, in the spirit of increasing the tools available to law enforcement for making our roads, sidewalks, paths and vehicle use itself safer, the General Assembly found ways to develop these two pieces of legislation. We look forward to Gov. JB Pritzker adding his signature to make them law.

And we continue to yearn for the day when legislative leaders, in particular, manage even profound and complicated legislation with similar resolve.