NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers are considering upping fines for drivers caught zooming down the interstate by amending state code to include a new fine for "super speeders."
The Tennessee General Assembly is scheduled to discuss House Bill 2338 on March 30 in the subcommittee. The bill, if passed, would add an additional $200 fine for people caught speeding 20 or more mph over the posted speed limit.
The bill also directs any "super speeder" fines collected from county courts would go to a fund run by the Tennessee Emergency Medical Services Board to compensate the state EMS community for readiness and uncompensated trauma care.
"My sense is the legislature is looking at it and saying these are the people who are causing most of the serious accidents are the excessive speeders," Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond said.
5% of the funds would be dispersed to the board, 22.5% would be dispersed to a trauma system fund, and 72.5% would be equally dispersed to each licensed ground and air medical ambulance service on a quarterly basis.
"This is to pay for people who don’t have insurance, people who are indigent and that kind of thing," said Hammond, whose office is in charge of collecting and distributing the fines.
Hammond said it would result in a potential windfall of more than $400 thousand in additional fines collected in Knox County alone. "You’re looking at about $130 thousand that could potentially be collected so far this year just in Knox County, 94 other counties [in Tennessee] would be collecting this as well."
If passed, the new fine would take effect on July 1, 2022.
"If you don’t want to pay the fine, slow down, go the speed limit and for sure don’t go over 20 miles per hour over the speed limit," Hammond said.