What's happening
This bill expands vehicular assault laws to include causing serious injury or death while knowingly driving without a valid license, and establishes vehicular homicide as a new felony offense.
Why it matters
Expands criminal liability for unlicensed or suspended drivers. The bill makes it a felony to cause serious injury or death while knowingly driving without a valid license, even if the driver was not intoxicated—addressing a gap where unlicensed drivers could previously avoid felonies unless drugs or alcohol were involved.
Targets repeat and high-risk offenders. By focusing on those whose licenses are suspended or revoked for driving-related offenses (not just administrative reasons), the law aims to deter individuals already flagged for dangerous driving from re-offending.
Introduces a new felony—vehicular homicide—for unlicensed driving. Creating a standalone vehicular homicide offense (class D felony) for deaths caused by unlicensed or suspended drivers increases the potential penalties and highlights the seriousness of driving without legal authorization.
Aligns penalties with the severity of harm caused. The change ensures that causing serious injury or death while knowingly unlicensed is treated comparably to injury or death caused by intoxicated drivers, reflecting a broader view of what constitutes reckless behavior on the road.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Felony for Unlicensed Injury Driving
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Crack Down on Unlicensed Drivers
In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Michael Gianaris
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
863
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. SIMOTAS, LENTOL, McDONOUGH, PAULIN, PRETLOW, DenDEKKER, FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to including within the offense of vehicular assault in the second degree, the causing of serious injury while knowingly operating a motor vehicle with a revoked or suspended license or while not holding a license and establishing the offense of vehicular homicide
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 120.03 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 732 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: § 120.03 Vehicular assault in the second degree.
A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree when he or she causes:
1. serious physical injury to another person, and either:
[(1)] (a) operates a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision two, three, four or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation of paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subdivision two of section fortynine-a of the navigation law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs, operates such motor vehicle, vessel or public vessel in a manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person, or
[(2)](b) operates a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than eighteen thousand pounds which contains flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives in violation of subdivision one of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and such flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives is the cause of such serious physical injury, and as a result of such impairment by the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01395-01-9
A. 863 2
use of alcohol, operates such motor vehicle in a manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person, or
[(3)] (c) operates a snowmobile in violation of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law or operates an all terrain vehicle as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred eighty-one of the vehicle and traffic law and in violation of subdivision two, three, four, or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs, operates such snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person.
If it is established that the person operating such motor vehicle, vessel, public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle caused such serious physical injury while unlawfully intoxicated or impaired by the use of alcohol or a drug, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of alcohol or a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs, such person operated the motor vehicle, vessel, public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that caused such serious physical injury, as required by this [section.] subdivision; or
2. serious physical injury to another person, while operating a motor vehicle, knowing or having reason to know that his or her license to or privilege to operate a motor vehicle is suspended or revoked pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten or subdivision 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 knowing or having reason to know that he or she is not licensed to operate a motor vehicle on a public highway pursuant to the vehicle and traffic law.
Vehicular assault in the second degree is a class E felony.
§ 2. The opening paragraph of section 120.04 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 496 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the first degree when he or she commits the crime of vehicular assault in the second degree as defined in subdivision one of section 120.03 of this article, and either:
§ 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 125.13-a to read as follows: § 125.13-a Vehicular homicide.
A person is guilty of vehicular homicide when he or she causes the death of another person, while operating a motor vehicle, knowing or having reason to know that his or her license to or privilege to operate a motor vehicle is suspended or revoked pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten or subdivision 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 knowing or having reason to know that he or she is not licensed to operate a motor vehicle on a public highway pursuant to the vehicle and traffic law.
Vehicular homicide is a class D felony.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
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.