LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — GPS-monitored, speed-limiting devices could soon be installed in the cars of Las Vegas’ most serious repeat driving offenders.
Judge Matt Walker at Las Vegas Municipal Court is working on a new effort aimed at keeping reckless drivers from returning to court after putting other people’s lives at risk.
“These would be, again, the worst of the worst,” Walker said. “The folks who have history that they’ve demonstrated that they need the court guidance to make sure that they’re out there keeping the road safe.”
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Addressing unsafe driving
Walker says he has seen the dangerous driving firsthand and wanted a different way to address it.
“One of the things when I started to look at how can I innovate, what things can I do on the bench, I looked to see how are other jurisdictions addressing unsafe driving,” he said. “And that’s what led me to these ISA devices.”
The technology can limit a vehicle’s speed to the posted speed limit using updated data and GPS monitoring.
“The data is updated regularly by the vendor to make sure that if there are any changes in the posted speed limit, that those are reflected in the device’s operation,” Walker said. “The device is GPS monitored, so it ensures that the path of travel is within those limitations.”
Walker says his vision starts with limiting speed, then shifting to monitoring to see whether a driver’s habits actually change over time.
“Once there’s been a period of recalibration there in the behavior, the idea is that we would shift to that monitoring period to determine that the participant has actually learned their lesson, that we have a deviation of behavior,” he said.
Repeat offenders
As a former prosecutor, Walker says he has long seen the same names and the same violations come back through the system.
“The idea of when we’re on the bench as judges, we are here to make sure the community is safe, to make sure the community is a place that we all want to live, a place that we all want our children and our grandchildren to live,” Walker said. “And moving forward, the idea is if we are able to change one person’s mindset at a time, that’s a success.”
Walker has created programs for repeat offenders and veterans. He hopes this pilot program can generate data to show whether it is effective and eventually expand it more broadly within the court system.
Walker is also considering whether good behavior with the device could lead to lower sentencing or fines in these cases.
Walker says the program is moving forward, but they are in final confirmations with their vendor, LifeSaver, and in talks with local partners on finalizing the details.
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