Appearing at a “Deadly Driving Rally for Change,” Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney was in Albany at the start of the state legislative session calling for the passage of a “Deadly Driving Bill’’ alongside lawmakers, victim families, and other district attorneys from across the state.
The group urged the legislature to close loopholes in the current law which make it difficult to arrest and prosecute individuals for operating a vehicle while obviously impaired. The measure changes the definition of "drug" in the vehicle and traffic law to include any substance or combination of substances that impair, to any extent, physical or mental abilities. It also tightens up the definition of impairment and intoxication and provides that refusal to submit to a breath test and/or an oral or bodily fluid test shall be considered a traffic infraction.
“There is no one on our roads–driver, motorcyclist, bicyclist or pedestrian–who is immune from becoming a victim of a drugged driving crash,” Tierney said at the rally, which was sponsored by the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York. “Closing this loophole is important because we must do everything we can to stop the horrendous loss of lives on our roadways. Impaired is impaired. Dangerous is dangerous, no matter whether it is alcohol or drugs,”
Senator Dean Murray, a sponsor of the Deadly Driving bill, expressed alarm over a dramatic increase in hit-and-run accidents on Long Island that has coincided with the legalization of marijuana. “They’re driving high, and they flee the scene because they don’t want to get caught,” Murray said. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s going on here.”
“New York State's recreational marijuana program and the explosion of illegal cannabis sales in our convenience stores and smoke shops has made one thing crystal clear: our roads have more drivers impaired by the use of drugs than ever before,” Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said at the rally. “Yet our laws are woefully inadequate in addressing the danger that these drivers pose to fellow motorists, passengers, and pedestrians.” McMahon also called for more Drug Recognition Experts to carry out field sobriety examinations, particularly to discern if drivers are high on weed.
Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano, when he voted against legalizing recreational cannabis, had warned of the difficulties in dealing with people driving while high. “The current law requires specialists to determine what the person was high on. We all knew that wasn’t going to work,” DeStefano said.
According to Tierney, the new law would eliminate the often-impossible requirement of specifically identifying the drug that is impairing a drugged driver. It will also aid in the prosecution of offenders by expanding the probable cause for evidential blood draws and automatically suspend the driver's license of individuals charged with impaired driving.
“Public safety isn’t just about responding when tragedy strikes; it’s also about prevention. Albany County has seen far too many fatal traffic crashes in recent years that were completely avoidable,” said Albany County District Attorney David Soares. “The Deadly Driving Bill would allow this office to engage in prevention by streamlining the process for prosecuting drugged driving cases. As amateur chemists escalate their efforts to poison our community, we in law enforcement must also escalate our efforts to stop them, which requires leaders to provide us with the laws and tools to do our jobs,” Soares said.
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley noted that “Illegal drugs and narcotics are always evolving, and this legislation ensures that law enforcement and the courts can stay on top of all impairing substances without awaiting time-consuming updates to the New York Public Health Law. Those who drive impaired choose to consume mind-altering substances before driving their vehicle, putting countless lives at risk. We must be able to hold these deadly drivers accountable, and when appropriate, help connect them with services if they are struggling with substance abuse disorder of any kind.”
Also speaking at the rally was Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, who stated, “Drunk, drugged, and distracted driving are at epidemic levels today. As cops and prosecutors, we need all the tools we can get to make successful prosecutions against dangerous drivers.”
“New York’s outdated approach to impaired driving handcuffs law enforcement, puts innocent people at risk, and leaves those who might be struggling with a drug problem unchecked and untreated,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, the president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children’s Association. “If we've learned anything during the current opioid crisis, it's that public safety is enhanced when law enforcement and addiction treatment providers work together.”
According to data from 2022, 37% of fatal crashes in New York State are drug-related. The rate of increase in drug-involved fatalities has outpaced drinking driver fatalities in the last five years. Drug-involved fatalities have increased 33% from 200 in 2018 to 266 in 2022. The raw number is also higher than alcohol and represents 23% of the total number of roadway fatalities in the state.
The National Transportation Safety Board reports that New York was one of only five states that use a list for drugged driving. Last year, the board sent a letter to Gov Kathy Hochul with Safety Recommendation H-22-044 supporting impaired driving charges for all drugs that impair driving without reference to a list.