The Susanville office of the California Highway Patrol is issuing a stark warning to local drivers: if you are caught driving over 100mph, your license is now at immediate risk, regardless of your past driving record.
Under a new pilot program announced by the California State Transportation Agency, California is taking aggressive action to curb reckless driving. The initiative, titled Forwarded Actions for Speeding Tickets, is a joint effort between the DMV and the CHP designed to hold dangerous drivers accountable before a tragedy occurs.
Immediate Consequences for Extreme Speeding
The premise of the new program is strict. Effective immediately, any driver cited by the CHP for exceeding 100mph will have their citation automatically forwarded to the DMV’s Driver Safety Branch.
Key elements of the FAST pilot include:
Automatic Review: The DMV will review the case and the driver’s history immediately upon receiving the citation.
Swift Penalties: The review can lead to the suspension or revocation of driving privileges.
Independent Action: Crucially, this administrative process can occur independently of court proceedings. You do not have to be convicted in court before the DMV takes action against your license.
The goal is to deliver swift consequences to keep dangerous drivers off California’s roadways.
A Growing Danger on Our Roads
The initiative comes in response to an alarming rise in traffic fatalities and excessive speeding. Speeding currently contributes to nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic fatalities statewide.
According to CHP data, officers issue approximately 1,600 citations every month to drivers traveling over 100 mph. In 2024 alone, the CHP issued more than 18,000 of these high-speed citations. To combat this, the CHP has also recently deployed a new fleet of low-profile, specially marked patrol cars on high-risk roads to identify violators.
State Officials Weigh In
State officials emphasize that this program is about saving lives, not just issuing tickets.
“We want to take immediate action against dangerous drivers before their carelessness leads to a deadly crash,” said DMV Director Steve Gordon. “We’re being proactive, and together with our CHP partners, we’re ready to put the brakes on this reckless behavior.”
CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee added that extreme speed is a choice that endangers the entire community.
“Driving over 100 miles per hour is a reckless choice that endangers everyone on the road,” Duryee said. “This new program delivers swift consequences to keep dangerous drivers off California’s roadways before their actions cause irreversible harm.”
Slow Down. Lives Depend on It.
The Office of Traffic Safety reminds all drivers that swift and certain penalties are proven deterrents to high-risk driving.
“Every time you get behind the wheel, follow the speed limit and drive like your closest friends and family are around you,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Stephanie Dougherty.
The DMV will be closely monitoring the program’s impact by comparing citation and outcome data to previous years. For drivers in Susanville and across Lassen County, the message is simple: Slow down.
