They start with the same letter, but penalty and privilege are not synonyms.

“We know that the primary penalty for extreme or repeat speeders, which is license suspension or revocation, doesn’t work,” said state Rep. Marti Deuter, D-Elmhurst, according to Capitol News Illinois. “Data indicates that about 75% of the people whose licenses are suspended continue to drive.”

The proposed solution is House Bill 4948, which sets conditions under which drivers could avoid a suspension by consenting to the installation of a speed control device in their vehicle. The House Judiciary-Criminal Committee advanced the plan on a 15-0 vote on March 26.

According to CNI, qualified drivers are those who, within 12 months, have two infractions for either speeding (at least 26 mph over the posted limit) or reckless driving. They’d be allowed to apply for a permit, then pay a $30 monthly fee for the device and have to keep it for one year after the first suspension, two years after the second and three years after three or more.

Although these drivers couldn’t work commercially or drive a school bus, they’d otherwise get to keep using their cars. The speed throttle devices have an override button to get a “certain period of seconds over the speed limit,” according to LifeSafer Vice President Mike Mahana, who added the company can “control that by how many miles per hour they go over the speed limit and for how long they can use it for. It’s meant for people that need to pass a vehicle, maybe go up a hill, passing a truck.”

It’s easy to understand why people keep driving on suspended licenses. Given a century of civil engineering and public transportation strategies, very few Illinoisans own cars they don’t need. Consider how life would be different if you resolved to keep your vehicle in the garage just for seven days.

Likewise, it’s obvious why state law doesn’t allow confiscation of a vehicle as punishment for speeding or reckless driving. My family has two cars and four licensed drivers – we can’t all be punished for one person’s lead foot.

Setting aside the ability to commit reckless driving without exceeding the speed limit, the fact that the legislation contemplates a pathway to (constrained) driving privileges for people who have racked up three separate license suspensions is little more than a concession that the penalty structure can never be expected to achieve the implicit goal of keeping dangerous drivers off the road.

As with most vehicle infractions, if you don’t get caught in the act, it never happened. Absent mass incarceration, electronic monitoring or other draconian methods, the best tool we have is threats. Can technology deliver safety? If nothing else, at least it’s a new strategy.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.