Increases penalties for criminal convictions of drunk or drugged driving where a child, under the age of 17, is a passenger

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to additional penalties for certain drunk driving convictions

Purpose

Increases the penalties for criminal convictions of drunk or drugged driving where a child, under the age of 17, is a passenger.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Amends subdivision 1 of section 1193 of the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new paragraph (g) that increases the penalties for driving intoxicated with a child in the vehicle. The additional penalties for a person convicted of drunk driving with a child under the age of 17 in the vehicle are: for the first such offense, an additional fine of between 2,000 and 5,000 dollars and 48-hours of consecutive imprisonment; for any subsequent offense, an additional fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars and an additional term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than 4 years.

Justification

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Center for Statistics and Analysis in 2004 a total of 442 (21 %) of all fatalities among children 14 and younger occurred in crashes involving alcohol. Of those 442, approximately half of those killed were passengers in vehicles with drivers who had been drinking with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of .01 grams per deciliter of higher. On average 500 children are killed annually in alcohol-related traffic crashes where the adult driver was responsible for their safety. Between 1985 and 1996 more than 5,500 children passengers died as a result of alcohol related traffic crashes. In 64 percent of those deaths, the child was riding as a passenger with he drunk driver, and almost two-thirds of those fatalities involved a parent-aged driver. From 1994 - 2000 there where 12,409 alcohol-related deaths involving children under the age of 14. Since the early 1990's, 27 states have passed laws directly addressing this issue in an attempt to protect children and severely punish those drunk drivers who put children at risk. Of the 27 states, 21 have adopted additional penalties in addition to their current drunk driving laws and 4 (Arizona, Georgia, Idaho and Ohio have adopted separate legislation to deal with the issue.

Drunken Driving is a pervasive blight on our society which may have far reaching negative effects on those lives it touches. Death, parilization amputation, head trauma and disfigurement are common when a car driven by a drunk driver is involved in an accident. As a society we have already determined this to be a significant crime. When an adult who is responsible for the care of a child violates their obligation to protect that child and drives while intoxicated they are committing a crime that should be held as particularly despicable by society. For this reason, it is imperative that we pass strict laws proclaiming that this state will have no tolerance for such behavior and will punish those offenders appropriately both for what they have done and to discourage others.

Legislative history

2007-2008 Passed the Senate (S.5315/A.9093)

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.