Some members of the City Council are asking Albany to crack down on so-called "super speeders" by using technology to force them to slow down.

Advocates and family members of people killed in traffic crashes rallied outside City Hall on Monday, where a committee held a hearing on a resolution urging Albany to pass the bill.

What You Need To Know

  • Some local lawmakers and advocates are urging Albany to pass a bill requiring speed-limiting technology in vehicles owned by repeat traffic offenders
  • Advocates, including crash victims' families, say the legislation could prevent deadly crashes like the recent one in Midwood that killed a mother and her two daughters

  • The legislation was introduced in Albany by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes

"We are calling on Albany to pass the Stop Super Speeders Bill — common-sense legislation that takes the option to speed out of the hands of New York City's most reckless drivers," said Elizabeth Adams, the deputy executive director for public affairs at Transportation Alternatives.

The legislation would require the installation of speed-limiting technology in cars if a driver accumulates 11 or more points on their driving record over a two-year period, a driver receives six speed camera or red-light camera tickets over a one-year period.

The "speed limiter" would cap a vehicle’s speed at 5 mph above the posted speed limit.

The legislation was introduced in Albany by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who recently tested the speed-limiting technology himself.

Advocates say it might have prevented the death of a Midwood mother and her two daughters, who were killed by a speeding vehicle last month.

The car was allegedly driven by Miriam Yarimi, who prosecutors say was traveling about 68 mph on a road with a 25 mph speed limit.

Public records show the car registered to Yarimi has more than 20 speeding tickets and six red-light camera violations.

Amber Adler, a traffic crash survivor who lives in Midwood, said, "The crash in Ocean Parkway, other crashes — those crashes can be prevented. We can safeguard people. We're not babysitting them. We're not hurting them. We're asking for a safeguard against those people driving that may be careless or they may be going through their own mental health crisis. Who knows? I don't care what the reason is. We can actually prevent this with this bill."

Darnell McCrow, who lost his 13-year-old daughter, Nyelle McCrory, when she was struck and killed by an SUV in Harlem last year, added, "Some vehicles are racking up hundreds of speeding tickets a year. And if we don't do something, one of these drivers is going to kill."

The City Council does not have the authority to pass this type of legislation itself; it can only urge Albany to do so.