Virginia enacts first-of-its-kind speed limiter program for reckless drivers

On July 1, Virginia became the first state in the country to adopt a new technology aimed at curbing excessive speeding and offering judges a new tool in their toolbox for punishing reckless drivers.

Virginia judges may now order drivers convicted of reckless driving or excessive speeding to sign up for the new Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) Program. Drivers ordered to participate in the program must install an ISA device in their car to limit their speed to posted speed limits.

The pioneering device sits next to the steering wheel, approximately where a dash-mounted GPS might sit. Utilizing real-time GPS data to calculate the vehicle’s exact position on the road, the device then matches the vehicle’s speed to local speed limits. With an ISA device installed, the vehicle would be unable to exceed the posted speed limit.

The law is the result of House Bill 2096, patroned by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, which was passed in 2025 by a broad bipartisan margin and signed by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Hope could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said he hopes the law can address what he believes is an increase in speeding post-pandemic.

“A lot of times, it really presents prosecutors and and judges with a real conundrum in terms of trying to work a case out in a way that doesn’t totally disrupt somebody’s life,” Surovell said.

Richmond attorney G. Manoli Loupassi, a traffic attorney and former state delegate, said he believes the new law is a great idea for public safety.

“Many drivers that drive at these high speeds have a heavy foot, aren’t paying attention or just have a serial problem, and they put us all at risk,” Loupassi said. “The new law is a pragmatic way to protect the public but allow these folks to continue to work and live their lives without endangering us.”

How it works

In the late 1980s, Virginia began studying the feasibility of ignition interlocks.

Then a novel technology, ignition interlocks prevent drivers convicted of driving under the influence from starting their vehicles without passing a breathalyzer test. Ignition interlocks became mandatory in Virginia starting in 2012 for all DUI offenders with restricted licenses.

Retired circuit court judge Michael Cassidy, who now educates judges on traffic safety law, drew comparisons between the interlock devices and the ISA program in a recent op-ed for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“ISA takes that same model and aims it at speed — targeted technology that addresses the specific dangerous act without stripping away a person’s livelihood,” Cassidy wrote.

The Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, which administers the interlock program, will also be administering the ISA program.

“I think VASAP is a good agency to monitor because they already have experience with the interlocks,” Surovell said.

Under the statute, judges can order enrollment into the program for drivers convicted of reckless driving, defined under statute as drivers either going 20 mph over the posted speed limit or over 85 mph, regardless of the limit.

The law is stricter for drivers who are convicted of reckless driving for driving faster than 100 mph. The code specifies that a judge “shall order such enrollment” into the ISA program for a period between 60 days and six months for drivers convicted of excessive speeding.

The law also allows judges to enroll drivers convicted of street racing into the program for a period between six months and two years, depending on judicial discretion.

The intent of the law is to prevent excessive speeding while allowing drivers to maintain the ability to go on with their daily lives.

“Anybody who does a steady diet of traffic cases can tell you about a client or two they’ve had through the years who seems to have a heavy foot problem,” Surovell said. “Hopefully this is the kind of thing that will make it easier to work out those cases and maybe correct the behavior.”

The devices are manufactured by LifeSafer ISA, which states that its devices maintain the posted speed limit via GPS monitoring, active speed control and customized speed settings. The devices, which also issue notifications if removed or altered, feature a digital display showing the vehicle’s current and maximum speed, along with color-coded alerts for upcoming changes to the speed limit.

Representatives from LifeSafer could not be reached for comment by deadline.

First, but not the last

With the implementation of HB 2096, Virginia becomes the first state to implement a statewide court-ordered ISA program and to embrace the budding technology.

Other states are already following suit.

Washington state passed legislation in 2025 to allow drivers convicted of excessive speeding or reckless driving to have similar limiters installed, effective Jan. 1, 2029.

Earlier this year, Maryland passed a bill requiring “high-risk drivers” with a history of extreme or repeated speeding devices install ISA devices in their vehicles. That law will become effective in October with the implementation of a pilot program that will continue through 2031.

Georgia also passed legislation requiring speed limiting devices be used by drivers convicted of street racing, but the measure was vetoed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

Barring any changes, the only jurisdictions likely to have ISA programs in place by the end of 2026 are Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., which requires installation of ISA devices after conviction of an aggravated reckless driving offense.

“The Capital Region has become the place the rest of the country is watching to see whether this works in practice,” Cassidy
wrote.

Advising clients

For people facing enrollment in the ISA program, there is a way to have the program duration reduced.

Per language in HB 2096, “any person who enters into the program prior to trial may pre-qualify with the program to have an intelligence speed assistance system installed on any motor vehicle owned or operated by him and that the court may consider such pre-qualification and installation.”

Loupassi said he would advise his clients to follow that course.

“As a defense attorney, I will encourage many of my high-speed clients to proactively install these devices prior to the trial date,” Loupassi said.

As for device implementation, Cassidy noted in his op-ed that implementation “is where good laws succeed or fail. A judge needs to know when ISA is the right condition and when it is not, how it fits alongside fines and suspensions rather than replacing them, and how to set terms a defendant can actually meet.”

As of July 16, Virginia Lawyers Weekly was not yet able to confirm if judges had already begun enrolling defendants convicted of reckless driving in the ISA program.