Witness urges pilot of intelligent speed assistance on city fleet; ORM working on pilots with CFSA and other agencies

A public witness recommended the District pilot so‑called speed limiters or intelligent speed assistance devices on government fleet vehicles to reduce crashes, hard braking incidents and liability costs.

Santiago Lakatos, testifying during the ORM portion of the hearing, recommended a pilot focused on the Department of Public Works vehicle fleet or any fleet managed by DPW. He pointed to a New York City pilot of roughly 50 vehicles with an approximate cost of $80,000 and said the trial showed vehicles "traveled within the speed limit parameters 99% of the time" and recorded a 36% reduction in hard‑braking events. He argued such devices "would more than pay for themselves" through reduced claims and maintenance costs.

Lakatos said the devices generally allow an override for emergency needs and suggested the program be piloted before larger deployment; he acknowledged DPW manages fleet but said ORM handles liability considerations. He also cited ORM—s FY24 payouts in support of the cost‑saving case.

ORM confirmed testing and pilots are moving forward. Jed Ross, ORM director, told the committee that the agency is preparing an intelligent speed assistance pilot "at the end of the month" that will include ORM and the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA), and noted Department for Hire Vehicles already uses related telematics; the pilot will examine GPS‑based speed enforcement, video telematics and other tools to inform future decisions.

Why this matters: proponents say speed‑limiting technologies reduce risky driving behavior and can lower accident and liability costs; the committee requested follow‑up data on claims tied to fleet incidents and pilot results as part of ORM's work plan.