What's happening
This bill expands vehicular assault laws to include causing injury or death while knowingly driving without a valid license, and establishes vehicular homicide as a crime.
Why it matters
Significantly increases legal risks for unlicensed drivers. By making it a felony to cause injury or death while knowingly driving with a suspended, revoked, or no license, the bill targets repeat or egregious offenders who disregard licensing laws, potentially deterring dangerous driving behavior.
Closes loopholes in current vehicular assault statutes. Previously, serious injury or death caused by unlicensed drivers might not have been prosecuted as strictly as cases involving intoxication or impairment; this bill ensures such cases can be charged as felonies.
Introduces “vehicular homicide” as a distinct crime. The creation of a new felony specifically for causing death while unlicensed elevates the seriousness of these offenses and standardizes consequences, possibly leading to longer sentences and increased accountability.
Reflects a broader public safety emphasis. The changes indicate a legislative focus on protecting pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists by holding drivers without legal driving privileges to a higher standard of responsibility, aiming to reduce preventable injuries and fatalities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Crack Down on Unlicensed Drivers
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.
Felony for Unlicensed Injury Driving
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Aravella Simotas
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2149
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 22, 2019
Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, ADDABBO, BRESLIN, HOYLMAN, LANZA, PARKER, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed 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
S. 2149 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.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to includ- ing 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 estab- lishing the offense of vehicular homicide
Purpose
Includes in a class E felony of vehicular assault in the second degree, the causing of serious physical injury or death while operating a vehi- cle with suspended, revoked or no license, and creates the crime of vehicular homicide, a class D felony.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one 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 vehi- cle and traffic law for conduct relating to the operation of a motor vehicle; or he or she is not duly licensed.
Read the full memo (684 words)
Section two 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 aggra- vating factors apply as provided in section 120.04
Section three 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 relat- ing 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 safe- ty. 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 trac- tor 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 condi- tions 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
2018: Passed Senate Died in Assembly 2017: Passed Senate Died in Assembly 2016: Passed Senate 2015: Passed Senate 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.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.