Senator Dale M. Volker Announces Senate Passage Of Stricter Dwi Provisions

(Albany, NY) Senator Dale M. Volker (R-I-C, Depew) today announced that the New York State Senate has passed a comprehensive package of bills to expand and enhance penalties against individuals who drink and drive or those who are under the influence of illegal narcotics while driving. The legislative package would increase penalties for repeat drunk drivers, increase penalties for drunk drivers who drive with children in the car, increase the minimum license revocation for the failure to submit to a chemical test, and would create the new crimes of aggravated driving while intoxicated and driving while under the influence of the combined effects of drugs and alcohol.

"Unfortunately, innocent New Yorker’s continue to die as a result of those who get behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of an illegal narcotic," said Senator Dale M. Volker. "This is just plain wrong and we have an obligation to the residents of New York to make sure that those who continue to break the law and kill the innocent will be severely and swiftly punished to the fullest extent of the law. We must not allow this senseless killing to continue and that is why we must act to protect our families and communities."

The Senate passed legislation (S.3421), that would: create the new Class E felony of aggravated driving for drivers with a .2 blood alcohol content; create the new crime of driving under the influence of the combined effects of drugs and alcohol; establish more precise methods for measuring intoxication; and remedy technical impediments under current law that impede the effective investigation and prosecution of alcohol related driving offenses.

The legislation would also increase and promote public safety by: increasing criminal penalties for Vehicular Manslaughter in the First and Second Degrees and Vehicular Assault in the First and Second Degrees; removing the requirement that prosecutors prove criminal negligence in Vehicular Manslaughter cases involving drunk drivers; creating new felony crimes for those who cause death or serious injury when fleeing at high speed from pursuing police officers; and authorizing judges to impose consecutive sentences when a person injures or kills more than one person as a result of a single criminal act.

In addition, the Senate passed a bill (S.203), that would create a new Class E felony when a person is convicted of a fourth violation of driving while ability impaired (DWAI), punishable by a fine of between $1,000 and $5,000 and/or imprisonment for a minimum of 1-3 years, and a mandatory driver's license revocation for one year. The Senate also passed a bill (S.665), that would increase the parameters of driving while ability impaired to include driving while ability is affected to any extent by the utilization of a drug.

Routinely, first time offenders driving under the influence of a drug are offered a plea that allows the defendant to admit to driving while under the influence of alcohol. This legislation will allow law enforcement officials to recognize if a defendant has been known to utilize drugs in past occurrences, rather than the misleading alcohol violations that may currently show on some offender's records because of unfair plea bargains.

-MORE-

Drunk driving with children in the car is reckless and, by most standards, constitutes neglect or even abuse. Since the early 1990's, at least 27 states have passed laws to expand protection for children and punish the drunk drivers who put them at risk. Children under the age of seventeen are typically unable to stop a drunk driver from getting behind the wheel. These drunk drivers who put children at risk should face more stringent penalties.

Legislation passed by the Senate (S.2272), would provide for additional penalties for convictions of drunk or drugged driving where a child under the age of 17 is a passenger. Additional penalties include: an additional fine of $200-$500 and an additional 48 hours of imprisonment for a first offense; an additional fine of $400-$1000 and an additional ten days of imprisonment for a second offense; and an additional fine of $1000-$5000 and an additional 30-90 days of imprisonment for any subsequent offense.

The Senate also passed a bill (S.2273), that increases the minimum length a driver's license can be revoked for the refusal to submit to a chemical test, from six months to one year for a criminal offense. In a case where a person has had a prior revocation for refusing to submit to a chemical test, or has been convicted of or found to be in violation of driving while ability is impaired by drugs or alcohol within the past five years, this bill would extend the minimum revocation from one year to eighteen months.

Under current law, a driver's license is suspended for six months upon a first offense of refusing to submit to a chemical test, and one year when the driver has a prior refusal or a prior conviction of an alcohol related offense. Additionally, The Senate passed legislation (S.2450), that would create a mandatory minimum revocation period of one year for the first conviction of DWI.

Another bill (S.2285) passed by the Senate, would require the permanent revocation of a driver's license when a person has accumulated three or more alcohol-related incidents within five years, or four or more within ten years.

The Senate passed a bill (S.2286), that would mandate all drivers involved in a fatal or serious injury accident by submitted to a blood alcohol content (BAC) test, when there is reasonable cause to believe that an alcohol related offense has been committed.

In accidents where a death or serious injury occurs, the State's interest in promoting public safety by obtaining BAC evidence of driving while impaired by alcohol outweighs the driver's privilege of refusing the test. There are situations where a court-ordered chemical test would interfere with the ability to provide emergency medical services, and an exception is provided in the bill for such circumstances.

The bills will be sent to the Assembly