What's happening
This bill creates the misdemeanor offense of aggressive driving and penalizes deliberately speeding up when being overtaken.
Why it matters
Defines "aggressive driving" as a specific misdemeanor. , making it easier to prosecute reckless or threatening driving behaviors, such as operating a vehicle in a way that creates significant danger or fear of serious harm to others.
Targets threatening conduct beyond just speeding or weaving through traffic. , including displaying weapons or objects that appear to be firearms while driving, thereby addressing road rage incidents that intimidate or endanger others.
Penalizes deliberate attempts to prevent safe passing. , specifically making it a misdemeanor to speed up intentionally when another driver is trying to overtake, aiming to reduce dangerous confrontations and improve road safety.
Expands legal options for law enforcement and victims. , by creating clear, prosecutable offenses for certain aggressive behaviors on the road that previously may have been difficult to address under existing reckless driving laws.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make Aggressive Driving Illegal
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2354
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the offense of aggressive driving
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 1212-a to read as follows:
§ 1212-a. Aggressive driving. A person is guilty of aggressive driving when:
(a) He or she recklessly operates a motor vehicle on a public highway in a manner that creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person; or
(b) He or she operates a motor vehicle on a public highway while displaying a deadly weapon, dangerous instrument or what reasonably appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or other firearm in such a manner to place another person in reasonable fear of death or serious physical injury; or
(c) He or she operates a motor vehicle on a public highway in such a manner to place another person in reasonable fear of death or serious physical injury.
Aggressive driving is a misdemeanor.
§ 2. Subdivision (b) of section 1122 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as follows:
(b) Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle [on audible signal] and shall not increase the speed of his vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle. Any person deliberately increasing the speed of his or her vehicle in violation of this subdivision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00743-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.