Golden, Malliotakis Turn Up Heat on Drunk-Driving and Hit-and-Runs

Legislators sponsor pair of bills to curb dangerous driving

Today, Senator Marty Golden (R,C,I-22nd District) and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R,C-60th District) held a press conference calling for passage of legislation to increase penalties on drunk and dangerous drivers. The legislators are urging their to pass S.4063/A.6878, the first piece of legislation Malliotakis introduced immediately after being sworn into the legislature, which would create a three-strike rule for repeat drunk drivers. The bill would attempt to curb the rash of drunk driving accidents, which claim the lives of more than 350 New Yorkers every year, by:

· automatically revoking a driver’s license for 10 years upon one’s third DWI conviction;

· immediately suspending one’s vehicle registration and revoking license plates while the license is invalidated; and

· immediately suspending one’s vehicle registration and revoking license plates for any convicted drunk driver caught driving with a suspended license.

In addition, Golden and Malliotakis are calling for the passage of S.2918/A.3350, which would increase the penalties for drivers who leave the scene of an accident without stopping or reporting it from a Class A Misdemeanor to a Class E Felony. The legislation would also increase penalties from a Class E Felony to a Class D Felony for repeat offenders and hit and run drivers who injure others. Drivers who flee from the scene of an accident where someone was killed would face Class C Felony charges under the proposed law.

State Senator Marty Golden stated, “This week, another person was left to die on our streets after getting hit by a car. And all too often, we hear of families destroyed by drunk drivers. This must be the year that the Empire State stands up against hit and runs and drunk driving.”

“Anyone that would get behind the wheel and gamble with the lives of others on the road deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law,” said Assemblywoman Malliotakis. “With the holiday weekend coming up, now is the most important time to focus on safety for drivers and pedestrians. Whether it’s a repeat drunk driver or a person who flees the scene of a crime, the message must be loud and clear – reckless drivers will end up behind bars.”