Albany eyeing crackdown on killer drivers

New York lawmakers want to put more dangerous drivers on trial.

State Sens. Timothy Kennedy (D-Buffalo) and Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) announced legislation Tuesday that would crack down on motorists who kill or injure people. They said current state laws make it difficult for authorities to charge and prosecute reckless and harmful drivers.

The proposed bill would establish four new offenses that police and prosecutors can use to charge drivers, including misdemeanors for “death by vehicle” and “serious physical injury by vehicle.”

The bill also includes a provision that could charge drivers with a Class E felony if they have recent driving convictions, or boost the speed limit by more than 20 mph when they kill or injure someone.

Such a conviction carries up to four years of prison time.

The bill was the result of a recommendation by a grand jury established by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. The group spoke with victims of traffic violence, transportation officials and advocacy groups.

“A New Yorker is as likely to be killed by a car as they are to be murdered by a knife or a gun,” Vance said.

Prosecutors have had trouble convicting drivers who kill people. Current law protects motorists who remain at the scene of an accident and are not drunk so long as they commit less than two moving violations — a principle of New York case law known as the “rule of two.”