Alesi bills aim to curb DWI threat

The NYS Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator Jim Alesi (R,C-Perinton)(Senate Bill S.4420-A) which would increase the penalties for criminal convictions of drunk or drugged driving where a child is a passenger. The senate also passed a bill Senator Alesi sponsored that would increase penalties for refusing to submit to a chemical test (Senate Bill S.45).

"Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is an extremely serious crime that is associated with high rates of accidents, injuries, and fatalities," said Senator Alesi. "Children are typically unable to stop an intoxicated person from getting behind the wheel, and those who are very young are often unaware that they are being placed at risk. The state must do everything in its power to deter careless individuals from threatening the lives of these children, along with the lives of innocent bystanders and travelers, with their reckless actions."

S.4420-A adds a new paragraph to the Vehicle and Traffic Law that increases the penalties for driving intoxicated with a child under the age of 17 in the vehicle. The additional penalties for a person convicted of such a crime are: for the first such offense, an additional fine of between 200 and 500 dollars with an additional 48-hours of imprisonment; for a second such offense, an additional fine of between 400 and 1000 dollars with an additional 10 days of imprisonment; for any subsequent offense, an additional fine of between 1000 and 5000 dollars and an additional term of imprisonment of between 30 and 90 days.

Senate Bill S.45 increases the minimum length a driver's license can be revoked for refusal to submit to a chemical test, from six months to one year for a first offense. Current law requires an operator's license to be suspended for six months for a refusal to take a chemical test and one year where the operator has a prior refusal or prior conviction of an alcohol related driving offense.

Additionally, the bill extends the minimum revocation period, from one year to eighteen months, in any case where the person has had a prior revocation resulting from refusal to submit to a chemical test, or has been convicted of or found to be in violation of driving while intoxicated or driving while the ability is impaired by alcohol or drugs within the five years immediately preceding the date of such revocation.