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Minutes for HB2146 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Increasing penalties for operating a vehicle at a speed in excess of 30 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 1, 2023
Chairperson Francis opened the hearing on HB2146.
Chris Waggoner, Office of Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of the bill and addressed questions from the committee. (Attachment 1)
Captain Mitch Clark appeared in support of the legislation on behalf of the Kansas Highway Patrol stating that it is their belief that by increasing fines for operating a vehicle in excess of 30 miles per hour (mph) over the speed limit it will decrease the occurrence of this type of dangerous behavior. He further explained that when a person's speed doubles, their stopping distance quadruples, making every increase in speed exponentially more dangerous to the driver's life and the lives of those around them. Captain Clark provided a graph detailing the significant rise in the number of citations issued to drivers traveling 100 or more miles per hour while explaining how speed was a factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities nationwide and highlighting the exorbitant cost of speed-related crashes to the state. (Attachment 2)
Captain Clark addressed questions from the committee.
Joel Skelley, Director of Policy appeared as a neutral conferee on behalf of the Kansas Department of Transportation. Mr. Skelly explained how the bill coincides with their own mission of reducing death and injury on Kansas roadways by increasing fines as a deterrent to drivers driving excessively above the speed limit. (Attachment 3)
Ed Klumpp, Legislative Liaison testified in support of the bill on behalf of The Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, The Kansas Sheriffs Association and The Kansas Peace Officers Association stating that speeding violations have increased both in numbers and in the rates of speed over the past several years. Mr. Klumpp explained how this bill specifically targets violators driving in excess of 30 mph over the speed limit such as 105 mph in a 75 mph zone, 95 mph in a 65 mph zone, 50 mph in a 20 mph zone, etc. He described these levels of speeding violations as egregious in that it inhibits the vehicle’s ability to stop as quickly and steer away from hazards while at the same time adversely affecting the ability of other drivers to gauge their speed in order to safely maneuver around them. (Attachment 4)
There being no further conferees, Chairperson Francis closed the hearing on HB2146.
The next scheduled meeting is February 02, 2023.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:28 PM.
