NYS Sen. Cooney wants to expand drugged driving law

A Rochester-area state senator is proposing a wide expansion of New York’s definition of drugged driving.

Sen. Jeremy Cooney, D-Rochester, proposes amending Section 114-a of the state Vehicle and Traffic Law to expand

the definition of drug to any substance or combination of substances that impair, to any extent, physical or mental abilities or a driver. .

New York’s current drugged driving statute requires law enforcement to name the drug impairing the driver and for the drug to be on the state Public Health Law list in Section 3306. That requirement excludes synthetic drugs and household products that, when snorted or ingested, can impair a driver. New York is one of four states that requires a drug to be listed in statute to trigger a drugged driving violation, Cooney said.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul in January 2023, Cooney said, asking the state to change its law, something that hasn’t happened since.

“This bill seeks to follow the NTSB safety recommendation, make the legislative correction and bring New York in line with the other 46 states,” Cooney wrote in his legislative justification.

It isn’t the first bill to be introduced to deal with the issue. Legislation has been introduced since the 2007 People v. Litto state Court of Appeals case that created the loophole. Those pieces of legislation included allowing oral fluid field testing, suspended the driver’s license for those charged with drugged driving when they are charged rather than after a conviction, the same way driving while intoxicated charges are handled; would have suspended the driver’s license of those who refused a drug recognition expert’s examination; and would have expanded the use of court orders to force blood to be drawn from those suspected of drugged driving.

“Through this process, dangerously impaired drivers would have their licenses suspended or revoked, be provided treatment intervention, attend the educational Impaired Driving Program and receive behavior modification. The goal of this legislation is to save lives by intercepting drugged drivers before they crash and kill,” Cooney wrote.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in June 2021 that nationally 56% of drivers involved in serious injury and fatal crashes tested positive for at least one drug. The Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) reports that in New York, there has been an 87% increase between 2013 and 2022 of the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for at least one drug on the Public Health Law (PHL) § 3306 list. Drug-related driving crashes have increased 33% in the five years between 2018 and 2022, Cooney wrote, while cautioning that in his view the numbers are likely higher because the statistics don’t include drugs that aren’t included on the state Public Health Law list.

“The clear indication is that drugged driving has become an increasing threat and is adding to the number of lives lost,” Cooney wrote.