Bill Text: NY A01192 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires investigating officers to field test and test blood alcohol levels of all drivers involved in auto accidents where serious physical injury or death occur; imposes rebuttable presumption of guilt for refusals; requires hospital to conduct such test where trauma/injury is considered too severe.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-09-27 - enacting clause stricken [A01192 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A01192-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1192
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 11, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. SIMANOWITZ, McDONOUGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
          of A. HOOPER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transporta-
          tion
        AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
          breathalyzer tests of drivers involved in  accidents  causing  serious
          physical injury or death
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 603-a of the vehicle  and  traffic
     2  law,  as added by chapter 408 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    1. In addition to the requirements of section  six  hundred  three  of
     5  this article, whenever a motor vehicle accident results in serious phys-
     6  ical injury or death to a person, and such accident either is discovered
     7  by  a  police  officer, or reported to a police officer within five days
     8  after such accident occurred, the police shall conduct an  investigation
     9  of such accident.
    10    (a) Such investigation shall be conducted for the purposes of making a
    11  determination of the following: the facts and circumstances of the acci-
    12  dent;  the type or types of vehicles involved, including passenger motor
    13  vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, motorcycles, limited  use  motorcy-
    14  cles, off-highway motorcycles, and/or bicycles; whether pedestrians were
    15  involved;  the  contributing factor or factors; whether it can be deter-
    16  mined if a violation or violations of this chapter occurred, and if  so,
    17  the specific provisions of this chapter which were violated and by whom;
    18  and, the cause of such accident, where such cause can be determined.
    19    (b)  Such  investigation  of  an accident scene shall also include the
    20  administration of field sobriety and a chemical test  of  blood  alcohol
    21  level to all motor vehicle drivers involved in such accident. The inves-
    22  tigating  police  officers  must  inform  the  drivers  of  such testing
    23  requirements and conduct them  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02885-01-7
        A. 1192                             2
     1  section  eleven  hundred  ninety-four  of  this  chapter. The refusal to
     2  submit to such testing shall  constitute  a  rebuttable  presumption  of
     3  guilt  and  such  refusal  shall  be  documented  in accordance with the
     4  provisions  of  section  eleven  hundred ninety-four of this chapter. If
     5  physical injuries do not permit such chemical testing  at  the  accident
     6  scene,  such  tests must be administered at the hospital. The results of
     7  such field sobriety and chemical tests or refusals of such  tests  shall
     8  be included in the police investigation report.
     9    (c) The police shall forward a copy of the investigation report to the
    10  commissioner within five business days of the completion of such report.
    11    §  2.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2 of section 603-a of the
    12  vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 408 of the  laws  of  2001,
    13  are  amended,  and  two  new paragraphs (c) and (d) are added to read as
    14  follows:
    15    (a) "commercial motor vehicle" shall have the  same  meaning  as  such
    16  term is defined in either subdivision four of section five hundred one-a
    17  or subdivision one of section five hundred nine-p of this chapter; [and]
    18    (b) "serious physical injury" shall have the same meaning as such term
    19  is defined in section 10.00 of the penal law[.];
    20    (c)  "field  sobriety  testing"  shall have the same meaning as "field
    21  test" or "breath test" pursuant to section eleven hundred ninety-four of
    22  this chapter; and
    23    (d) "chemical test" of blood alcohol level shall have the same meaning
    24  as such term is defined in section eleven hundred  ninety-four  of  this
    25  chapter.
    26    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    27  have become a law.