Bill Text: NY S06202 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for certain presumptions for reckless driving and the implementation of a reckless driving and vehicular violence awareness component of the pre-licensing course for driver's licenses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-16 - referred to transportation [S06202 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S06202-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6202 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 15, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN -- 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 and the insurance law, in relation to reckless driving and the implementation of a reckless driving and vehicular violence awareness component of the pre-licens- ing course for driver's licenses The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The Legislature recognizes the height- 2 ened responsibility of operating a multi-ton car or truck and that such 3 motor vehicle is a dangerous instrument under state law that, in an 4 instant, can cause lethal physical harm. For example, when operating a 5 car at 30 miles per hour the average risk of a pedestrian dying upon 6 impact with such car is 40%, at 40 miles per hour the risk of death is 7 80%, and at speeds greater than 50 miles per hour the likelihood of 8 death is near certain at nearly 100%. 9 When deaths resulting from alcohol-impaired driving were reduced from 10 approximately 30,000 annually in the early 1980s across the United 11 States to approximately 10,000 annually in recent years, that remarkable 12 reduction was achieved in part by the certainty experienced by drivers 13 that they would suffer legal consequences for driving impaired and risk- 14 ing the lives of themselves and others, resulting from changes in laws 15 prohibiting impaired driving. However, that certainty does not exist for 16 other types of dangerous driving. A 2016 survey by the National Safety 17 Council showed that "although 83% of drivers surveyed believe driving is 18 a safety concern, a startling number say they are comfortable speeding 19 (64%) and texting either manually or through voice controls (47%)," 20 whereas far fewer (10%) say they are comfortable driving after they feel 21 they've had too much alcohol. This shows that, while drunk driving has 22 become socially unacceptable, most other forms of dangerous driving have EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10482-02-1S. 6202 2 1 not, and New Yorkers are paying the price with lives lost and bodies and 2 families shattered. Moreover, the New York City Department of Transpor- 3 tation estimated in 2010 that the annual cost of all traffic crashes 4 just in New York City to be $4.29 billion annually, about 1% of the 5 Gross City Product. 6 As evidenced by our country's experience combatting drunk driving, 7 research has shown that perceived certainty of legal consequences is 8 necessary to deter or prevent harmful acts, including dangerous driving. 9 The original statutory language of the New York vehicle and traffic law 10 section 1212, in and of itself, is favorable to a reasonable standard 11 for reckless or dangerous driving, specifying that driving in a manner 12 that "unreasonably interferes with" or "unreasonably endangers others" 13 constitutes a violation of that section and is an unclassified misdemea- 14 nor. However, that reasonableness standard has subsequently been height- 15 ened by New York judicial interpretations that require factors such as a 16 finding of seriously blameworthy conduct, an "affirmative act" by the 17 driver, a "gross deviation" from the standard of conduct a reasonable 18 person would observe, and additional "aggravating factors" on behalf of 19 the driver -- all judicial interpretations not required by the original 20 statutory text. This judicially imposed requirement fails to recognize 21 the awesome responsibility that operating a multi-ton car or truck is 22 and as a consequence, evidenced in part by the staggering injuries and 23 deaths in our state, the statute has failed to achieve what it intended. 24 Cars and trucks are dangerous instruments under state law and should be 25 recognized as such when applying vehicle and traffic law section 1212. 26 For these reasons the Legislature is correcting the misapplication of 27 vehicle and traffic law section 1212 and restore the statute to its 28 original intent to deter and prevent dangerous operation of heavy motor 29 vehicles that pose a daily threat to public health and risk the lives of 30 New Yorkers throughout our state. 31 § 2. Section 1212 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter 32 47 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows: 33 § 1212. Reckless driving. (a) Reckless driving shall mean [driving] 34 operating or using any motor vehicle, motorcycle or any other vehicle 35 propelled by any power other than muscular power or any appliance or 36 accessory thereof in a manner which unreasonably interferes with the 37 free and [proper] safe use of the public highway, or unreasonably endan- 38 gers users of the public highway. Reckless driving is prohibited. Every 39 person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 40 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or the penal law, 41 there shall be a rebuttable presumption that every person violating this 42 section and who causes physical injury, serious physical injury or death 43 to another person shall be found to have acted with criminal negligence 44 under section 15.05 of the penal law, and every person violating this 45 section while acting with criminal negligence shall be guilty of a class 46 A misdemeanor. A violation of this section does not require a finding of 47 a minimum number of violations of law or a finding that a person was 48 aware of, had perceived, or had created the risk of harm to another 49 person. 50 (b) Provided further, if the operator of a motor vehicle, motorcycle 51 or any other vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular power or 52 any appliance or accessory thereof operates in a manner that causes 53 physical injury, serious physical injury or death to another person 54 while violating one or more sections of this chapter or of a law, ordi- 55 nance, order, rule or regulation relating to traffic, except parking, 56 standing, or stopping offenses, then there shall be a rebuttableS. 6202 3 1 presumption such driver was operating in violation of subdivision (a) of 2 this section. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to 3 supersede the provisions of any other applicable section of law. 4 (c) A driver of a motor vehicle or motorcycle guilty of violating this 5 section shall additionally be required to participate in a motor vehicle 6 accident prevention course approved by the commissioner pursuant to 7 article twelve-B of this chapter. 8 § 3. Section 1146 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap- 9 ter 333 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 1146. Drivers to exercise due care. [(a)] Notwithstanding the 11 provisions of any other law to the contrary, every driver of a vehicle 12 shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, pedestri- 13 an, or domestic animal upon any roadway and shall give warning by sound- 14 ing the horn when necessary. For the purposes of this section, the term 15 "domestic animal" shall mean domesticated sheep, cattle, and goats which 16 are under the supervision and control of a pedestrian. 17 [(b) 1. A driver of a motor vehicle who causes physical injury as18defined in article ten of the penal law to a pedestrian or bicyclist19while failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of20this section, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction punishable by a21fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not22more than fifteen days or by both such fine and imprisonment.232. If such driver of a motor vehicle causes physical injury while24failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of this25section, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as a result26of such failure to exercise due care, such person operated the motor27vehicle in a manner that caused such physical injury.28(c) 1. A driver of a motor vehicle who causes serious physical injury29as defined in article ten of the penal law to a pedestrian or bicyclist30while failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of31this section, shall be guilty of a traffic infraction punishable by a32fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars or by imprisonment for33not more than fifteen days or by required participation in a motor vehi-34cle accident prevention course pursuant to paragraph (e-1) of subdivi-35sion two of section 65.10 of the penal law or by any combination of such36fine, imprisonment or course, and by suspension of a license or regis-37tration pursuant to subparagraph (xiv) or (xv) of paragraph b of subdi-38vision two of section five hundred ten of this chapter.392. If such driver of a motor vehicle causes serious physical injury40while failing to exercise due care in violation of subdivision (a) of41this section, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as a42result of such failure to exercise due care, such person operated the43motor vehicle in a manner that caused such serious physical injury.44(d) A violation of subdivision (b) or (c) of this section committed by45a person who has previously been convicted of any violation of such46subdivisions within the preceding five years, shall constitute a class B47misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars48in addition to any other penalties provided by law.49(e) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the court from50imposing any other authorized disposition, including a period of commu-51nity service.] 52 § 4. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) and paragraphs (b) and (d) of 53 subdivision 4 of section 502 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended 54 by chapter 513 of the laws of 2019, are amended and a new paragraph 55 (c-5) is added to read as follows:S. 6202 4 1 (i) Upon submission of an application for a driver's license, the 2 applicant shall be required to take and pass a test, or submit evidence 3 of passage of a test, with respect to the laws relating to traffic, the 4 laws relating to driving while ability is impaired and while intoxicat- 5 ed, under the overpowering influence of "Road Rage", "Work Zone Safety" 6 awareness and "Motorcycle Safety" awareness as defined by the commis- 7 sioner, "School Bus Safety" awareness, the laws relating to "Reckless 8 Driving and Vehicular Violence" awareness, the law relating to exercis- 9 ing due care to avoid colliding with a parked, stopped or standing 10 authorized emergency vehicle or hazard vehicle pursuant to section elev- 11 en hundred forty-four-a of this chapter, the ability to read and compre- 12 hend traffic signs and symbols and such other matters as the commission- 13 er may prescribe, and to satisfactorily complete a course prescribed by 14 the commissioner of not less than four hours and not more than five 15 hours, consisting of classroom driver training and highway safety 16 instruction or the equivalent thereof. Such test shall include at least 17 seven written questions concerning the effects of consumption of alcohol 18 or drugs on the ability of a person to operate a motor vehicle and the 19 legal and financial consequences resulting from violations of section 20 eleven hundred ninety-two of this chapter, prohibiting the operation of 21 a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Such test 22 shall include one or more written questions concerning the devastating 23 effects of "Road Rage" on the ability of a person to operate a motor 24 vehicle and the legal and financial consequences resulting from assault- 25 ing, threatening or interfering with the lawful conduct of another 26 person legally using the roadway. Such test shall include one or more 27 questions concerning the potential dangers to persons and equipment 28 resulting from the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle in a work zone. 29 Such test shall include one or more questions concerning reckless driv- 30 ing and exercising due care to avoid colliding with bicyclists and 31 pedestrians. Such test may include one or more questions concerning 32 motorcycle safety. Such test may include one or more questions concern- 33 ing the law for exercising due care to avoid colliding with a parked, 34 stopped or standing vehicle pursuant to section eleven hundred forty- 35 four-a of this chapter. Such test may include one or more questions 36 concerning school bus safety. Such test shall be administered by the 37 commissioner. The commissioner shall cause the applicant to take a 38 vision test and a test for color blindness. Upon passage of the vision 39 test, the application may be accepted and the application fee shall be 40 payable. 41 (b) Upon successful completion of the requirements set forth in para- 42 graph (a) of this subdivision which shall include an alcohol and drug 43 education component as described in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, a 44 "Road Rage" awareness component as described in paragraph (c-1) of this 45 subdivision and a "Work Zone Safety" awareness component as described in 46 paragraph (c-2) of this subdivision, a "Motorcycle Safety" awareness 47 component as described in paragraph (c-3) of this subdivision, [and] a 48 "School Bus Safety" awareness component as described in paragraph (c-4) 49 of this subdivision, and a "Reckless Driving and Vehicular Violence" 50 awareness component as described in paragraph (c-5) of this subdivision 51 the commissioner shall cause the applicant to take a road test in a 52 representative vehicle of a type prescribed by the commissioner which 53 shall be appropriate to the type of license for which application is 54 made, except that the commissioner may waive the road test requirements 55 for certain classes of applicants. The commissioner shall have the power 56 to establish a program to allow persons other than employees of theS. 6202 5 1 department to conduct road tests in representative vehicles when such 2 tests are required for applicants to obtain a class A, B or C license. 3 If he or she chooses to do so, he or she shall set forth his or her 4 reasons in writing and conduct a public hearing on the matter. [She] He 5 or she shall only establish such a program after holding the public 6 hearing. 7 (c-5) "Reckless Driving and Vehicular Violence" awareness component. 8 (i) The commissioner shall provide in the pre-licensing course, set 9 forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a mandatory component in 10 "Reckless Driving and Vehicular Violence" awareness education as a 11 prerequisite for obtaining a license to operate a motor vehicle. The 12 purpose of the component is to educate prospective licensees on the 13 potential dangers to pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized 14 vehicles created by motor vehicles, and the consequences of committing a 15 vehicular crime that causes injury or death to another individual. 16 (ii) The curriculum shall include, but shall not be limited to, an 17 overview of traffic laws governing motor vehicle operators' duty to 18 exercise due care with respect to pedestrians and bicyclists, including 19 but not limited to understanding bicyclists' and pedestrians' rights of 20 way, safe operation near bicyclists and pedestrians, including children 21 and blind, deaf, elderly and disabled pedestrians, bicycle lanes as 22 defined in section one hundred two-a of this chapter, safety overtaking 23 a bicycle, the dangers of distracted driving and reckless driving, driv- 24 ing at appropriate reduced speeds when special hazards exist with 25 respect to pedestrians or other weather or highway conditions, safely 26 turning, stopping, standing, and parking, motor vehicle operators' obli- 27 gations to comply with article twenty-two of this chapter, traffic 28 control devices and markings related to bicyclists and pedestrians, and 29 an overview of laws governing conduct committed while operating a motor- 30 ized vehicle that causes injury or death to another person. 31 (iii) In developing such curriculum, the commissioner shall consult 32 with the commissioner of transportation, the superintendent of state 33 police, the commissioners of transportation and police of the city of 34 New York, medical professionals and bicycle and pedestrian safety advo- 35 cates. 36 (d) The commissioner shall make available for distribution upon regis- 37 tration at each location where the pre-licensing course will be given, 38 instructional handbooks outlining the content of the entire curriculum 39 of the pre-licensing course including the information required to be 40 included in the course pursuant to paragraphs (c), (c-1), (c-2), (c-3) 41 [and], (c-4) and (c-5) of this subdivision. The commissioner shall also 42 provide for the additional training of the instructors necessary for the 43 competent instruction of the alcohol and drug education, "Road Rage" 44 awareness, "Work Zone Safety" awareness, "Motorcycle Safety" awareness 45 and "School Bus Safety" awareness subject matters of the pre-licensing 46 course. 47 § 5. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance 48 law, as amended by section 3 of chapter 4 of the laws of 2021, is 49 amended to read as follows: 50 (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liability 51 and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall provide 52 for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for any 53 insured for a three year period after successfully completing a motor 54 vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety coun- 55 cil's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course 56 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to theS. 6202 6 1 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that, 2 except as provided in article twelve-C of the vehicle and traffic law, 3 there shall be no reduction in premiums for a self-instruction defensive 4 driving course or a course that does not provide for actual classroom 5 instruction for a minimum number of hours as determined by the depart- 6 ment of motor vehicles. Such reduction in premium charges shall be 7 subsequently modified to the extent appropriate, based upon analysis of 8 loss experience statistics and other relevant factors. All such accident 9 prevention courses shall be monitored by the department of motor vehi- 10 cles and shall include components of instruction in "Road Rage" aware- 11 ness [and], in "Work Zone Safety" awareness and in "Reckless Driving and 12 Vehicular Violence" awarness as defined by the commissioner of motor 13 vehicles. The provisions of this section shall not apply to attendance 14 at a program pursuant to article twenty-one of the vehicle and traffic 15 law as a result of any traffic infraction. 16 § 6. Paragraph 1 of subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance 17 law, as amended by section 4 of chapter 4 of the laws of 2021, is 18 amended to read as follows: 19 (1) Any schedule of rates or rating plan for motor vehicle liability 20 and collision insurance submitted to the superintendent shall provide 21 for an actuarially appropriate reduction in premium charges for any 22 insured for a three year period after successfully completing a motor 23 vehicle accident prevention course, known as the national safety coun- 24 cil's defensive driving course, or any driver improvement course 25 approved by the department of motor vehicles as being equivalent to the 26 national safety council's defensive driving course, provided that in 27 either event there shall be no reduction in premiums for a self-instruc- 28 tion defensive driving course or a course that does not provide for 29 actual classroom instruction for a minimum number of hours as determined 30 by the department of motor vehicles. Such reduction in premium charges 31 shall be subsequently modified to the extent appropriate, based upon 32 analysis of loss experience statistics and other relevant factors. All 33 such accident prevention courses shall be monitored by the department of 34 motor vehicles and shall include components of instruction in "Road 35 Rage" awareness [and], in "Work Zone Safety" awareness and in "Reckless 36 Driving and Vehicular Violence" awareness as defined by the commissioner 37 of motor vehicles. The provisions of this section shall not apply to 38 attendance at a program pursuant to article twenty-one of the vehicle 39 and traffic law as a result of any traffic infraction. 40 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 41 it shall have become a law provided, however, that the amendments to 42 subsection (a) of section 2336 of the insurance law made by section five 43 of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such 44 subsection pursuant to section 5 of chapter 751 of the laws of 2005, as 45 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act 46 shall take effect.
