Golden and Malliotakis Crack Down on Drunk Driving

New legislation imposes a three strike rule, targeting repeat offenders

Senator Martin Golden (R,C,I–Brooklyn) and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R,C–Brooklyn, Staten Island) are proposing new drunk driving laws in response to a rash of recent cases across the state. The proposal takes a new approach to penalizing repeat drunk drivers.

“Repeat drunk drivers have been and continue to be a chief concern for law enforcement and impose an extreme danger to our society,” said Malliotakis. “Repeat offenders tend to drive with the highest blood-alcohol levels and are the main contributors to the drunk driving problem in New York. They account for between one third and one half the DWI arrests each year and the severity of penalties on these criminals must be increased to match the severity of the crime.”

“Since a significant percentage of drunk drivers continue to drive with suspended licenses, vehicle registration privileges should be suspended or revoked along with an offender’s license,” said Senator Golden. “It would be much more difficult for a repeat offender to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that lacks license plates. This legislation will make roadways across the State of New York safer for all.”

Malliotakis and Golden’s new legislation would:

Ø call for automatic revocation of a driver’s license for 10 years upon the third DWI conviction;

Ø immediately suspend one’s vehicle registration and revoke license plates while the license is invalidated; and

Ø immediately suspend one’s vehicle registration and revoke license plates for any convicted drunk driver caught driving with a suspended license.

On February 25th, a Staten Island man was indicted on charges relating to a drunk driving accident that killed two of his friends. Authorities stated that his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.