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FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – The Senate Transportation Committee has advanced a bill on a 7-1 vote that would levy a new $200 fee against so-called “super speeders” in Kentucky to help fund an emergency trauma network as well as for other purposes.

Under the provisions of Senate Bill 57, a motorist would be considered a “super speeder” if convicted of driving more than 25 miles per hour over the speed limit on a state highway. Fees collected from such speeders would be used to boost Kentucky’s trauma care system fund, a rural hospital preservation fund, an emergency medical technician scholarship fund and a fund to help public schools purchase automated external defibrillators.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said the measure is modeled after legislation in Georgia. He noted that the Kentucky legislature passed a bill in 2008 to establish a trauma care network, but it has never received any funding from the General Assembly.

“One of my frequent complaints as a legislator here is that we never measure the cost of doing nothing, and certainly by not funding this network has cost us dearly not just in terms of lives – probably during that period we lost 85,000 lives due to trauma – average about 5,000 a year,” he said. “And if we had a network in place, probably conservatively, we could have saved at least 5,000 lives.”

Meredith said many trauma patients have had to leave Kentucky to receive treatment, and millions of Medicaid dollars have been spent in other states.

Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, cast the lone no vote, and explained why.

“I think we can agree that if you’re going 25 miles and over in the middle of a city, that’s dangerous, and I can see a reason for a super speeder fine,” he said. “If you’re trying to get home at 10 o’clock at night, and there’s nobody on a limited access highway at all, frankly I would just adopt Montana’s reasonable and prudent standard. And as long as you’re not being unsafe, then I don’t really think you should have to pay an additional fine.”

The measure now heads to the Senate floor.