Increases the penalty for leaving the scene of an incident without reporting such incident

BILL NUMBER:S1655

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the penalty for leaving the scene of an incident resulting in a personal injury

Purpose or general idea of bill

To increase the penalty for leaving the scene of an automobile accident that results in a physical injury.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends the vehicle and traffic law by increasing the penalty for leaving the scene of an incident resulting in physical injury to a class A misdemeanor and for leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death or serious physical injury to a class C felony.

Effects of present law which this bill would alter

The current penalty, for leaving the scene of an accident involving a physical injury, is a class B misdemeanor with a fine between two hundred fifty ($250.00) and five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first violation and a class A misdemeanor with a fine of between five hundred ($500.00) and one-thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for subsequent violations. This bill would require any violation of the statute to be punishable with a class A misdemeanor and a fine between five hundred ($500.00) and one-thousand dollars ($1,000.00).

The penalty, for leaving the scene of an accident involving a serious physical injury or death, is currently a class E felony. This bill would change the penalty to a class C felony.

Justification

Automobile accidents are one of the principle causes of fatalities and serious physical injuries in New York each year. In New York, during 2000 alone, over fourteen hundred people died in automobile accidents and approximately three hundred thousand were physically injured.

A significant number of accidents resulting in physical injury involved a party that leaves the scene of an accident without reporting information required by the statute to authorities. The statue not only requires a driver at fault to present pertinent information to the injured party, but also requires that driver to report the accident to the police in a timely manner. By reporting the injury to the police, the statute seeks to ensure that skilled medical professionals can respond to the accident within a reasonable period. By failing to make sure medical care is provided by reporting the accident to the authorities, a driver that does not report the accident jeopardizes the health of those that were injured in the accident.

Legislative history

S.2093 of 2007 01/31/08 Referred to Transportation S.117 of 2009 01/07/09 REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION 01/06/10 REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

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