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Thursday, April 15, 2004
The New York York State Senate today passed legislation that would increase penalties to punish motorists who are convicted of dangerous and unlawful driving. The bills are part of a package, submitted by Governor George Pataki earlier this month, designed to crack down on dangerous drivers and make our streets and sidewalks more safe and close legal loopholes that allow drivers who injure or kill innocent victims to escape strong punishment.
"New York�s laws must be changed to target dangerous drivers who flagrantly disobey traffic rules and cause crashes that claim innocent lives," Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said. "Killer motorists shouldn�t be able to drive through legal loopholes to escape strong punishment and evade justice. I applaud Governor Pataki for advancing this legislative package and I hope the Assembly will join the Senate in passing these bills."
The bills passed today would require a defendant to serve consecutive sentences when two or more criminal offenses are committed through a single act that causes death or injury to more than one person; strengthen existing penalties to punish motorists who injure or kill people as a result of dangerous and unlawful driving; require fingerprinting of someone who is convicted of dangerous driving; and deter, punish, and educate drivers convicted of road rage.
Consecutive Sentences
Legislation passed today (S.6559), sponsored by Senator Martin Golden (R-C, Brooklyn), would provide that consecutive sentences must be imposed on someone who commits two or more criminal offenses through a single act that causes death or physical injury to more than one person.
"Each individual life is precious and criminals should be held accountable for each death they cause," Senator Golden said. "New York�s sentencing laws should reflect that fact in the form of consecutive sentencing. This form of sentencing will serve as a deterrent to those who wish to take a life and destroy a family."
This bill would address a case in Brooklyn in which an off-duty police officer was convicted of driving while intoxicated and causing the deaths of four members of the same family. Current law would not permit consecutive sentences to be imposed upon this defendant.
Punishing Dangerous Drivers
The Senate today passed a bill (S.6560), sponsored by Senator Patricia McGee (R-C, Franklinville), that would strengthen existing penalties to punish motorists who injure or kill people as a result of dangerous and unlawful driving. The bill would create a new class D felony for Vehicular Manslaughter in the Third Degree.
"The necessary reforms of Vehicular Assault and Manslaughter will help to adequately deter and punish negligent drivers who injure or kill innocent people as a result of dangerous and unlawful driving," Senator McGee said. "Those who violate the rules of the road while evading law enforcement and cause serious physical injury or death will be subject to swift prosecution of these new proposed penalties."
This crime is committed when a driver kills another person and: knows his or her license is suspended; or is acting in violation of certain traffic laws, and has two or more traffic violations in the past 18 months; or is impaired by the use of alcohol.
In addition, this bill would raise Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree from a class D to a class C felony. It also provides that a person may be charged with this crime if death occurs as a result of driving while intoxicated.
Repeat Dangerous Drivers
Current state law does not permit the fingerprinting of someone who is convicted of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. As a result, someone arrested for a second offense does not have the crime elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony. A bill passed today by the Senate (S.6561), sponsored by Senator Joseph Robach (R, Rochester), would require fingerprinting of these defendants to ensure that they don�t evade the appropriate punishment.
"Someone who flagrantly violates the law and is a repeat danger on our roads shouldn�t be able to run from their record," Senator Robach said. "This bill would ensure that law enforcement can get repeat dangerous drivers off the road and prevent future accidents and save lives."
In addition, the bill raises penalties for first, second and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle to properly reflect the seriousness of this crime; reduces the number of prior suspensions needed to prove the first degree offense from ten to five; and establishes a presumption that a person with three or more suspensions imposed on separate dates knows that his or her license is suspended.
Aggressive Driving & Road Rage
The Senate also passed legislation today that would curb road rage and improve the safety of motorists.
The road rage legislation (S.6644), sponsored by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio (R-C, Fayette), would deter, punish and educate drivers convicted of road rage. The bill would establish criminal sanctions, mandate license revocation and require successful completion of approved defensive driving courses.
"A car in the hands of an overly aggressive driver is just as dangerous as a gun in the hands of a murderer," said Senator Nozzolio. "We have seen an alarming rise over the past several years in the number of motorists who use their vehicles in a hostile, threatening and dangerous manner. Such incidents of road rage are all too often contributing factors in motor vehicle accidents. While these aggressive drivers are sometimes held criminally accountable, all too often under current law, such malicious behavior can only be charged as a traffic violation. This legislation will help to ensure that aggressive drivers are justly punished under the law and held accountable for their actions."
The bills were sent to the Assembly.
Two other bills introduced as part of the dangerous driver package were passed by the Senate earlier this month. The legislation (S.6541 and S.6558, sponsored by Senator Carl Marcellino and Senator Nicholas Spano) would increase the penalties for leaving the scene of a deadly accident, and require the automatic revocation of a driver�s license when an individual operates a vehicle in violation of the legal rules of the road and causes serious physical injury or death.
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