Enacts Ruby's Law providing for mandatory testing of breath, blood or urine in the event of a motor vehicle collision resulting in death or injury; provides immunity from civil liability for those health care providers who comply with the provisions of law requiring such testing.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7890
SPONSOR: Benedetto TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to mandatory testing in the event of a motor vehicle collision
resulting in injury or death
PURPOSE:
To provide a mechanism for greater enforcement of driving while intoxi-
cated and driving while ability impaired laws involving motor vehicle
accidents.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subparagraph 1 and 2 of paragraph (a) of Subdivision 2 of
Section 1194 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, as amended by Chapter 196
of the Laws of 1996, are amended and a new subparagraph 2-1 is added.
Requires for a mandatory chemical test when a motor vehicle accident
results in a death and a court ordered chemical test when there is a
serious personal injury.
JUSTIFICATION:
All too often, intoxicated drivers who are involved in motor vehicle
crashes escape prosecution. In August of 2004, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's Final Report on State. Laws and Prac-
tices for SAC Testing and Reporting Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes,
found that New York State reported testing only 3.9% of surviving driv-
ers who were involved in fatal crashes for their Blood Alcohol Concen-
tration. Only two states reported testing a smaller percentage of
surviving drivers involved in fatal crashes. This legislation requires a
mandatory chemical test be performed when there is a serious personal
injury or a death as a result of a motor vehicle accident where it is
reasonably believed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2005-2006: A.7002-A.
2007-2008: A.6945
2009-2010: A.3B10.
2012: A2645.
2014: A8560A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7890
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 29, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BENEDETTO -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to mandatory
testing in the event of a motor vehicle collision resulting in injury
or death
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Ruby's Law".
2 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 603-a of the vehicle and traffic law, as
3 added by chapter 408 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as 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) When present at the scene of such accident, the investigating
20 officer shall also request that all operators of motor vehicles involved
21 in such accident submit to a field sobriety test as defined in section
22 eleven hundred ninety-four of this chapter provided there are reasonable
23 grounds to believe such motor vehicle operator committed a serious traf-
24 fic violation in the same accident. Upon refusal to submit to such test-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11382-01-5
A. 7890 2
1 ing, such person shall be subject to the provisions of section eleven
2 hundred ninety-four of this chapter. The results of such field sobriety
3 and chemical tests or refusals of such tests shall be included in the
4 police investigation report. For the purposes of this section, "serious
5 traffic violation" shall mean operating a motor vehicle in violation of
6 any of the following provisions of this chapter: articles twenty-three,
7 twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-eight, twenty-nine and
8 thirty and sections five hundred eleven, six hundred and twelve hundred
9 twelve.
10 (c) The police shall forward a copy of the investigation report to the
11 commissioner within five business days of the completion of such report.
12 § 3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 2 of section 1194 of the
13 vehicle and traffic law, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 196 of the
14 laws of 1996 and paragraph (c) as added by chapter 47 of the laws of
15 1988, are amended to read as follows:
16 (b) Report of refusal. (1) If: (A) such person having been placed
17 under arrest or having driven a vehicle involved in an accident result-
18 ing in serious physical injury to, or the death of, another person and,
19 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section six hundred
20 three-a of this chapter, there are reasonable grounds to believe such
21 person has committed a serious traffic violation as defined by such
22 paragraph; or (B) after a breath test indicates the presence of alcohol
23 in the person's system; or (C) with regard to a person under the age of
24 twenty-one, there are reasonable grounds to believe that such person has
25 been operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol in
26 violation of section eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article; and
27 having thereafter been requested to submit to such chemical test and
28 having been informed that the person's license or permit to drive and
29 any non-resident operating privilege shall be immediately suspended and
30 subsequently revoked, or, for operators under the age of twenty-one for
31 whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that such operator has been
32 operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol in violation of
33 section eleven hundred ninety-two-a of this article, shall be revoked
34 for refusal to submit to such chemical test or any portion thereof,
35 whether or not the person is found guilty of the charge for which such
36 person is arrested or detained, refuses to submit to such chemical test
37 or any portion thereof, unless a court order has been granted pursuant
38 to subdivision three of this section, the test shall not be given and a
39 written report of such refusal shall be immediately made by the police
40 officer before whom such refusal was made. Such report may be verified
41 by having the report sworn to, or by affixing to such report a form
42 notice that false statements made therein are punishable as a class A
43 misdemeanor pursuant to section 210.45 of the penal law and such form
44 notice together with the subscription of the deponent shall constitute a
45 verification of the report.
46 (2) The report of the police officer shall set forth reasonable
47 grounds to believe such arrested person or such detained person under
48 the age of twenty-one had been driving in violation of any subdivision
49 of section eleven hundred ninety-two or eleven hundred ninety-two-a of
50 this article, that said person had refused to submit to such chemical
51 test, and that no chemical test was administered pursuant to the
52 requirements of subdivision three of this section. The report shall be
53 presented to the court upon arraignment of an arrested person or a
54 person arrested or issued an appearance ticket for a serious traffic
55 violation committed in the same accident being investigated pursuant to
56 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section six hundred three-a of this
A. 7890 3
1 chapter, provided, however, in the case of a person under the age of
2 twenty-one, for whom a test was authorized pursuant to the provisions of
3 subparagraph two or three of paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and who
4 has not been placed under arrest for a violation of any of the
5 provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article, such
6 report shall be forwarded to the commissioner within forty-eight hours
7 in a manner to be prescribed by the commissioner, and all subsequent
8 proceedings with regard to refusal to submit to such chemical test by
9 such person shall be as set forth in subdivision three of section eleven
10 hundred ninety-four-a of this article.
11 (3) For persons placed under arrest for a violation of any subdivision
12 of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article or placed under
13 arrest or issued an appearance ticket for a serious traffic violation
14 committed in the same accident being investigated pursuant to paragraph
15 (b) of subdivision one of section six hundred three-a of this chapter,
16 the license or permit to drive and any non-resident operating privilege
17 shall, upon the basis of such written report, be temporarily suspended
18 by the court without notice pending the determination of a hearing as
19 provided in paragraph (c) of this subdivision. Copies of such report
20 must be transmitted by the court to the commissioner and such transmit-
21 tal may not be waived even with the consent of all the parties. Such
22 report shall be forwarded to the commissioner within forty-eight hours
23 of such arraignment.
24 (4) The court or the police officer, in the case of a person under the
25 age of twenty-one alleged to be driving after having consumed alcohol,
26 shall provide such person with a scheduled hearing date, a waiver form,
27 and such other information as may be required by the commissioner. If a
28 hearing, as provided for in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, or subdi-
29 vision three of section eleven hundred ninety-four-a of this article, is
30 waived by such person, the commissioner shall immediately revoke the
31 license, permit, or non-resident operating privilege, as of the date of
32 receipt of such waiver in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
33 (d) of this subdivision.
34 (c) Hearings. Any person whose license or permit to drive or any non-
35 resident driving privilege has been suspended pursuant to paragraph (b)
36 of this subdivision is entitled to a hearing in accordance with a hear-
37 ing schedule to be promulgated by the commissioner. If the department
38 fails to provide for such hearing fifteen days after the date of the
39 arraignment of the arrested person, the license, permit to drive or
40 non-resident operating privilege of such person shall be reinstated
41 pending a hearing pursuant to this section. The hearing shall be limited
42 to the following issues: (1) did the police officer have reasonable
43 grounds to believe that such person had been driving in violation of any
44 subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article or was
45 driving a vehicle involved in an accident being investigated pursuant to
46 paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section six hundred three-a of this
47 chapter; (2) did the police officer make a lawful arrest of such person
48 or issue a lawful appearance ticket to, or make a lawful arrest of, such
49 person for a serious traffic violation committed in the same accident
50 being investigated pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of
51 section six hundred three-a of this chapter; (3) was such person given
52 sufficient warning, in clear or unequivocal language, prior to such
53 refusal that such refusal to submit to such chemical test or any portion
54 thereof, would result in the immediate suspension and subsequent revoca-
55 tion of such person's license or operating privilege whether or not such
56 person is found guilty of the charge for which the arrest was made or
A. 7890 4
1 the appearance ticket was issued; and (4) did such person refuse to
2 submit to such chemical test or any portion thereof. If, after such
3 hearing, the hearing officer, acting on behalf of the commissioner,
4 finds on any one of said issues in the negative, the hearing officer
5 shall immediately terminate any suspension arising from such refusal.
6 If, after such hearing, the hearing officer, acting on behalf of the
7 commissioner finds all of the issues in the affirmative, such officer
8 shall immediately revoke the license or permit to drive or any non-resi-
9 dent operating privilege in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
10 (d) of this subdivision. A person who has had a license or permit to
11 drive or non-resident operating privilege suspended or revoked pursuant
12 to this subdivision may appeal the findings of the hearing officer in
13 accordance with the provisions of article three-A of this chapter. Any
14 person may waive the right to a hearing under this section. Failure by
15 such person to appear for the scheduled hearing shall constitute a waiv-
16 er of such hearing, provided, however, that such person may petition the
17 commissioner for a new hearing which shall be held as soon as practica-
18 ble.
19 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
20 have become a law.
