Includes in the class E felony of vehicular assault in the second degree, the causing of serious physical injury while operating a vehicle with suspended, revoked or no license

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of the bill amends Section 120.03 of the penal law to provide that a person has committed vehicular assault in the second degree when he or she causes serious physical injury to another person by operation of a motor vehicle while knowing or having reason to know that his or her license or privilege of operating a motor vehicle is suspended or revoked pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten or subdivisions one or three of section five hundred ten-a of the vehicle and traffic law for conduct relating to the operation of a motor vehicle; or he or she is not duly licensed.

Section two of the bill amends the opening paragraph of section 120.04, limiting the crime of vehicular assault in the first degree to only those actions listed in subdivision one of section 120.03 when such additional aggravating factors apply as provided in section 120.04

Section three of the bill adds a new section 125.16 to the penal law creating the crime of vehicular homicide, providing that a person is guilty of the crime when he or she causes the death of another person while operating a motor vehicle while knowing or having reason to know that his or her license or privilege of operating a motor vehicle is suspended or revoked pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten or five hundred ten-a of the vehicle and traffic law for conduct relating to the operation of a motor vehicle; or he or she is not duly licensed.

Justification

In recent months, more attention has been paid to the fact that drivers with suspended licenses in New York State are still getting behind the wheel - and killing people. Ten percent of all crashes in New York are caused by drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, and 75 percent of those drivers still get behind the wheel.

Often, these drivers are suspended for reasons related to traffic safety. They are a menace to pedestrians like Noshat Nahian, the eight year old third grader at PS 152 who lost his life when he was hit by a tractor trailer while crossing Northern Boulevard at 61st Street, and to other drivers on the road. Licenses are suspended for a reason: these people should not be behind the wheel of a vehicle.

It is illegal to drive a vehicle on a street or highway without a valid driver's license. The right to operate a motor vehicle is

granted by the state, and its use depends upon the motorist complying with the conditions prescribed in granting the license.

While we cannot turn back the clock on past accidents due to driving with a suspended license, we can make it more difficult for people to engage in this activity in the future. We must redouble our efforts to make our streets safer, including bringing chronically reckless drivers to justice.

This legislation would make it a class E felony for drivers who drive unlicensed or with a revoked/suspended license to or seriously injure or a class D felony to kill someone in the process.

Prior legislative history

2014: Senate Bill # 6385 (Gianaris) Defeated in Senate Codes Committee

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

This act should take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.