BILL NUMBER:S6016

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to requiring disclosure to the department of motor vehicles
of any condition which may cause a person licensed to operate a motor
vehicle to lose consciousness or have impaired cognition

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure the safety of pedestrians
and drivers by requiring timely reports to the Department of Motor
Vehicles after an individual sixteen years of age or older is
diagnosed with a chronic condition which causes or may cause
unconsciousness or unawareness.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends the vehicle and traffic law to add a new section
216-b requiring reports of health conditions that may impair the
ability to operate a motor vehicle. This report will be used by the
medical review unit of the department of motor vehicles to conduct an
investigation into the subject of the report's condition and ability
to operate a motor vehicle. This report will include recommendations
to the commissioner as to the driver's fitness to operate a motor
vehicle, including whether any restrictions should be placed on such
person's driver's license, whether the license should be suspended,
              

revoked, or denied, or whether such license should continue without
restriction.

This section also requires that reports and the contents thereof shall
be kept confidential by the Department, to be used for the sole
purpose described in this section,. This section also provides
licensed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners
with civil and criminal liability in any action or proceeding on
account of any report or disclosure made in accordance with the
provisions of this section.

Section 2: Amends Sec. 506 of the vehicle and traffic law to add a new
subdivision 6, which requires, in addition to any existing provision
of law or regulation, any licensed driver who knows he or she has been
diagnosed with any chronic condition which causes or may cause
unconsciousness or unawareness to report such condition and related
facts to the commissioner.

JUSTIFICATION:

On October 3rd, 2014, Calin Fly, a 4-month-old from Dansville, New
York, died as a result of injuries sustained when an automobile
crashed through the front of the home in which he lived. The driver
gave a voluntary statement in which he described having a condition
that causes seizures for which he takes daily medication. In the
driver's statement, he stated that the last thing he remembered was
coming to an intersection located approximately a block from Calin's
home. He became alert again when he found himself inside of his
vehicle after it had crashed into the family's home.


In August of 2011, a driver crashed her vehicle into a group of
pedestrians standing in front of a church in Voorheesville, New York.
Three innocent people were killed in the crash. The driver of the
vehicle was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was being treated
with a number of medications. The driver pleaded guilty to criminally
negligent homicide after officials determined that the accident was
caused by the cocktail of medications she was on.

On May 30, 2015, Maksym Sugorovskiy, a 3-year-old boy, died from
injuries sustained when a vehicle careened over a low curb into
Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York, crashing into Makysm, his
5-year-old sister. Stephanie, and their mother, Mary. Authorities
believe that the driver was asleep at the wheel, and it was reported
in the media that the driver suffers from narcolepsy and epilepsy.

These cases highlight a glaring need in state law that will help
protect both drivers and pedestrians. Under current law, individuals
are only required to disclose information about medical conditions
that may impair their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle when
they are applying for their first driver's license or are applying to
renew their driver's license. When filling out the DMV MV-44 form, the
applicant is required to check "yes" or "no" to a question regarding
conditions causing unconsciousness or unawareness. If the applicant
checks yes, they must have certain forms filled out by a licensed
physician, which are then submitted to the DMV to initiate a rigorous
investigation by the DMV's Medical Review Unit to make a determination
as to whether to deny a license, grant a license, or grant a license
with certain restrictions.

New York State currently requires a regular license renewal every
eight years. This means that a driver could apply for or renew their
license and one month later be diagnosed with a condition causing
unconsciousness or unawareness, and would be under no obligation to
disclose that information to the DMV.

Requiring licensed physicians, physician assistants and nurse
practitioners, as well as the individuals themselves, to report to the
DMV in a timely manner diagnoses of conditions causing unconsciousness
or unawareness enables the Department to conduct a rigorous review of
the individual's medical condition. By ensuring that these reports are
made in a timely manner after diagnosis is a step toward preventing
tragedy.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Takes effect on the one hundred twentieth day; provided, however, that
effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its


effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
or before such effective date.