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Who cares
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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Print number 4694a
- Amend (t) and recommit to codes
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the crime of vehicular manslaughter, and to repeal certain provisions of the penal law relating thereto
Purpose or general idea of bill
Equating vehicular manslaughter to the maximum allowable penalty based on the concept of knowingly intoxicating oneself through drugs and alcohol and putting others in harm way.
Summary of provisions
This legislation would amend section 125.12 of the Penal Law and repeal section 125.13 of the Penal Law.
By amendment, vehicular manslaughter would no longer be classified as a two degree penalty.
Justification
Vehicle manslaughter, also known as vehicular homicide, is the killing of another human being by car when without malice or intent. If a person deliberately intoxicates themselves through drugs or alcohol and operates a motor vehicle, that person has committed a premeditated act. In essence, a motor vehicle is as deadly as a gun.
The true tragedy of vehicular murder is that innocent people are murdered. Vehicular tragedies often cause multiple deaths, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a voluminous amount of statistics regarding "death by auto". An analytical report performed in 2008 for New York State showed 27% of fatal crashes to be caused by alcohol-impaired drivers. A 2007 National Roadside Survey (NRS), the first of its kind to estimate a national-representation of the prevalence of potentially impairing drug use by drivers, determined 16% of nighttime drivers were found to be drug positive. The most commonly detected drugs were marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. A little over 2% of drivers on weekend nights were found to have an illegal blood alcohol content (.08 or more). Comparing drugs to alcohol, drug-impaired driving happens far more than alcohol-induced driving.
Because of innocent lives being taken away by the inappropriate and reckless actions of intoxicated and/or drug-impaired drivers, we strongly believe the penal law should be amended to equate vehicular manslaughter with the highest class and strictest penalty allowable.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.