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California is kicking off 2026 by cracking down on speeding – not just with the installation of speeding cameras around the state, but also with a pilot program that could take the fastest rule breakers off the road completely.
On December 22, 2025, the California DMV and the California Highway Patrol announced their joint pilot program, FAST, which stands for the Forwarded Actions for Speeding Tickets.
“Under Governor Newsom’s leadership, California is taking bold, data-driven action to confront reckless speeding head-on,” said Toks Omishakin, California Transportation Secretary, in a statement. “The FAST pilot reflects our commitment to innovation, accountability, and prevention — using real-time information to intervene before dangerous driving turns deadly. This is about protecting lives and delivering on our shared responsibility to make our roads safer for everyone.”
What is FAST?
Beginning in December 2025, anyone caught speeding over 100 mph by the California Highway Patrol will be automatically referred to the DMV Driver Safety Branch. The department will then review the incident, alongside the driver’s record, and is prepared to suspend and even revoke the driver’s licenses of offenders.
The DMV notes that the decision “is independent of any judicial actions associated with the citation and does not depend on a conviction,” and suspension or revocation can occur even if a driver has no prior points on their record. While this kind of punishment was previously a much slower process, the new initiative can result in speedier repercussions.
Speeding is a concern on California highways
Speeding is a major factor in traffic collisions that lead to death or injury, and accounts for about one out of three of all traffic-related deaths on California roads in the last 10 years. According to the LA Times, the fatalities and serious injuries related to speeding and aggressive driving have increased by 52% since 2010.
The DMV and CHP hope the initiative can help curb fatalities and injuries.
“We believe that early intervention is the key to saving lives,” said Steve Gordon, DMV Director in a statement. “We want to take immediate action against dangerous drivers before their carelessness leads to a deadly crash. We’re being proactive and together with our CHP partners, we’re ready to put the brakes on this reckless behavior.”
“Driving over 100 miles per hour is not a mistake; it is a reckless choice that endangers everyone on the road,” added CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “This new program delivers swift consequences to keep dangerous drivers off California’s roadways before their actions cause irreversible harm.”
Approximately 1,600 individuals a month are ticketed for driving 100 mph or faster. CHP issued more than 18,000 of these citations in 2024.
The new initiative follows the CHP’s deployment of 100 low-profile, specially marked patrol vehicles in May 2025. The vehicles are designed to target “video game-styled” driving and blend into traffic long enough to catch lawbreakers. The DMV reports 33,000 speed-related citations were given across the state in the first six months of the cars on the road. Over 1,100 citations were given for speeding over 100 mph.