BILL NUMBER:  S787

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to additional
penalties for certain drunk driving convictions


 PURPOSE :
This legislation increases the penalties for criminal convictions of
drunk or drugged driving where a child, under the age of 17, is a
passenger.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1: amends subdivision 1 of section 1193 of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law by adding a new paragraph (g) that increases the
penalties, in addition to the current penalties, for driving
intoxicated with a child in the vehicle. The additional penalties for
a person convicted of drunk driving with a child under the age of 17
in the vehicle are: for the first such offense, an additional fine of
between $200 and $500 or an additional 48 consecutive hours of
imprisonment, or by both such additional fine and imprisonment; for a
second offense, an additional fine between $400 and $1,000 or an
additional 10 days of imprisonment, or by both such additional fine
and imprisonment; for any subsequent offense, an additional fine
between $1,000 and $5,000 or an additional term of imprisonment
between 30 and 90 days, or by both such additional fine and
              

imprisonment.

Section 2: establishes the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more
than 12,000 children under the age of 14 died in alcohol-related
traffic accidents between 1994 and 2000. In 64% of those deaths, the
child was riding with the drunk driver. Since 1990, traffic fatalities
involving alcohol have declined 25%, however, the percentage of child
passenger deaths has not decreased significantly.  According to a
recent study from the University of North Carolina, the percentage of
alcohol involvement for child fatalities has actually increased. The
study noted that drunk drivers who had children in the vehicle at the
time of their offenses were more likely to have previous drunk driving
convictions or prior driver license suspensions and were less likely
to buckle up their children.

Since the early 1990s, at least twenty-seven states have passed laws
to expand protection for children and punish those drunk drivers who
put them at risk. Drunk drivers who endanger children should find
themselves facing higher fines and longer terms of imprisonment. This
legislation is modeled after similar legislation in California that
has proven to be extremely effective in keeping children safe from
drunk drivers.

Children under the age of 17 are typically unable to stop a driver who
is intoxicated from sitting behind the wheel. In order to enhance the
protection of children, these drunk drivers should face more stringent
penalties and terms of imprisonment. Drunk driving with children in
the car is reckless and, by most standards, constitutes as neglect or
even abuse.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2005-2006: S.2272 - Passed Senate; 2003-2004: S.4420-A - Passed
Senate; 2007 Passed Senate; 2008 - Transportation

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.