Relates to aggravated leaving the scene of an incident without reporting

Summary of provisions

Section One of the bill amends the vehicle and traffic law to establish a duty on the part of any driver who knows, or has reason to know, that he collided with a person or property, to get out of their vehicle and investigate the incident. Section One also increases the penalties for leaving the scene of an incident as follows: (i) property damage is increased from an A misdemeanor to an E felony; (ii) serious personal injury is increased from an E felony to a D felony; (iii) death is increased from a D felony to a C felony.

Section Two of the bill amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding a new section 600-a, which establishes the crime of aggravated leaving. the scene of an incident without reporting. An individual would be charged with this aggravated crime if they left the scene of an incident, and certain aggravating factors exist. The aggravating factors include a prior conviction of any of the following, within the past ten years: reckless driving, leaving the scene of an incident, any violent felony as defined by section 70.02 of the penal law, DWI, vehicular assault, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, manslaughter, or murder. Having a suspended or revoked license for a DWI or a failure to submit to a chemical test is also an aggravating factor.

Aggravated leaving the scene of an incident resulting in property damage is categorized as a class D felony. Aggravated leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious personal injury is categorized as a class D felony. Aggravated leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death is categorized as a C felony.

Section Three is the effective date.

Justification

New York state is experiencing an epidemic of incidents of drivers leaving the scene of motor vehicle accidents. In Suffolk County alone, there were 13 fatalities attributed to an individual leaving the scene of an incident without reporting in the year 2012. This crime is particularly egregious in light of the fact that a severely injured person's chance of survival is greatly diminished when medical care is delayed.

The current penalties for leaving the scene of an incident are very lenient, and could serve to entice a drunk driver to flee, rather than call for help. Current law provides that a drunk driver who causes the serious injury of another person is guilty of a D felony and that a drunk driver who causes the death of another is guilty of a C felony.

However, leaving the scene of ark incident resulting in a serious injury is only an E felony and leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death is only a D felony. Penalties should not be less severe for a driver who injures others and leaves the scene, and the law should provide a disincentive for such behavior.

Further, penalties should be more severe for people who leave the scene of an incident on multiple occasions, or those who have prior convictions that tend to show a disregard for the rules of the road and more importantly, for human life.

Legislative history

New bill

Fiscal implications

No cost to the state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately. Provided however, section two of this act shall only apply when the underlying conviction occurred on or after the effective date of this act.