NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6970
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to aggravated
reckless driving
PURPOSE:
Relates to establishing the offense of aggravated reckless driving
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Section 1212 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to add
(ii) aggravated reckless driving shall mean reckless driving involving
harm to an identifiable person or property and shall constitute a class
A misdemeanor.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law to include a provision
creating an aggravated reckless driving offense that would, in certain
specified circumstances, qualify as a bail-eligible offense.
Under recent bail reform efforts (see generally CPL 500.10, et. seq.),
cash bail was eliminated for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.
As relevant here, certain exceptions to the elimination of bail apply to
so-called repeat offenders, such that felonies that would not normally
constitute bail-qualifying offenses may become qualifying offenses when:
(1) committed by an offender serving a sentence of probation or PRS; or
(2) the offense subjects the defendant to sentencing on that felony as a
persistent felony offender. Additionally, amendments made in 2020 and
2022 define a qualifying offense as "any felony or class A misdemeanor
involving harm to an identifiable person or property...where such charge
arose from conduct occurring while the defendant was released on his or
her own recognizance
or released under conditions" (CPL 510.10
4t). The underlying crimes themselves "need not be a qualifying
offense" (id.)
Currently, Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) 1212 defines reckless driving
as "driving or using any motor vehicle...in a manner which unreasonably
interferes with the free and proper use of the highway, or unreasonably
endangers users of the public highway," the violation of which consti-
tutes a misdemeanor. For a first offense, the violation is an unclassi-
fied misdemeanor; subsequent offenses are subject to enhanced penalties.
Accordingly, even under the expansion of repeat offenses that can
constitute qualifying offenses, the amendments do not encompass reckless
driving.
This bill seeks to ensure that those who continue to drive recklessly do
not continue this behavior before trial.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
