Photo provided courtesy of Unsplash.com
By: Elizabeth Echard
Within the past few years, there has been a nationwide crackdown on individuals driving under the influence and putting human lives at risk. [1] However, there has been an increase in sober drivers who are performing minor traffic infractions that are taking human lives. [2] This year, in New York, 26 bicyclists and 92 pedestrians were killed at the hands of reckless drivers, with little retributive measures that could be taken. [3] The laws have not provided much of a remedy for the violations of these sober drivers, and have somewhat tied the hands of the prosecutors, until recently. [4]
In November of 2019, a New York Grand Jury issued an investigative report that proposed recommendations for legislative changes in an effort to create and strengthen criminal offenses that would be applicable to vehicular collisions resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of an individual. [5] The proposed legislation will create a new article within New York’s Penal Code, entitled, “Vehicular Violence.” [6] “Vehicular Violence” would establish four new vehicle offenses in New York, including: (1) Serious Physical Injury by Vehicle, which would be a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail, (2) Death by Vehicle, which would be a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, (3) Aggravated Serious Physical Injury by a Vehicle, which would also be a Class A Misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in jail, and (4) Aggravated Death by Vehicle, which would be a Class E Felony, punishable by up to four years in jail [7] [8]
The proposed Vehicular Violence Accountability Act would turn the tables for prosecutors because they would no longer need to prove “reckless intent,” as in the current law, but would rather, only have to prove “failure to exercise due care.” [9] With this shift to a lower standard, the standard would be easily proven by showing that one of the twenty five moving violations listed in the proposed bill occurred, such as speeding, driving on the sidewalk, failing to turn safely, and talking on the phone, etc. and that this action caused the death or serious bodily injury of the victim. [10] To be charged with the aggravated versions, the actor must have, in addition to the requisite standard of intent, been driving on a suspended license for a prior traffic related offense, been driving more than 20 miles over the speed limit, committed more than one traffic infraction listed within the bill, killed more than one person, or killed one person and seriously injured at least one other. [11]
Currently, the only criminal offense for negligent sober driving in New York is the Right of Way Law, which is an unclassified Misdemeanor and brings, at the very most, 30 days in jail. [12] The Right of Way statutes, as opposed to the Vehicular Violence Accountability Act, have limited applicability regardless of their well-intentioned nature. [13] The Right of Way statues can only be applied to cases where the victim’s injury or fatality was caused by the driver failing to yield to the right of way in the crosswalk. [14] These statutes do not apply to drivers who kill or seriously injure pedestrians while committing other types of traffic infractions, such as texting while driving, speeding, failing to comply with traffic signals, or making improper turns. [15]
This proposed legislation has not been passed in New York yet: however, this type of legislation is up and coming, with five states joining New York on this venture to end vehicular violence. [16] This legislation seems to provide the benefit that many cities and states are looking for to decrease the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by vehicular violence by giving the prosecutors more options to allow justice to prevail. [17] It is a foreseeable prediction that many states will start to jump on this bandwagon, especially if New York’s bill passes, and the statistics will presumably show the difference that a decrease in vehicular violence will occur.
[1] U.S. Department of Transportation Launches New Ad Campaign to Stop Impaired Driving, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/us-department-transportation-launches-new-ad-campaign-stop-impaired-driving (2018).
[2] Julianne Cuba, Pols Offer New Law to Hold Reckless Drivers Accountable, Streets Blog NYC, https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/10/30/pols-offer-new-law-to-hold-reckless-drivers-accountable/ (2019).
[3] Id.
[4] Barry Kamins, The Criminalization of Dangerous Driving, New York Law Journal, https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/11/29/the-criminalization-of-dangerous-driving/ (2019).
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Julianne Cuba, Pols Offer New Law to Hold Reckless Drivers Accountable, Streets Blog NYC, https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/10/30/pols-offer-new-law-to-hold-reckless-drivers-accountable/ (2019).
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Barry Kamins, The Criminalization of Dangerous Driving, New York Law Journal, https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/11/29/the-criminalization-of-dangerous-driving/ (2019).
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] New York State FFY 2017 Highway Safety Annual Report, New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, http://www.safeny.ny.gov/annualRpt/2017GTSCAnnualReport.pdf (2017).
