Bill Text: NY S00844 | 2015-2016 | 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: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-03-08 - referred to transportation [S00844 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S00844-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          844
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 7, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
       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.
                                                                  LBD00560-01-5
       S. 844                              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    S  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    S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
   27  have become a law.