By Pat Biancaniello
Suffolk County is first in the State. It has been one year since the Child Passenger Protection Act became law on December 18, 2009. The law most commonly referred to as Leandra’s Law has resulted in 661 people across NYS being arrested and charged with a felony for driving while intoxicated or impaired with a child under the age of 16 in the car. Of the 661 people arrested, 10% or 67 people, were arrested in Suffolk County thus giving Suffolk County the dubious distinction of having more arrests under Leandra’s Law than in any of the other 61 counties in New York State.
The provisions of Leandra’s Law include: 1. First time offenders may be charged with a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in state prison. 2. As of Aug. 15, 2010 Courts must order those convicted under Leandra’s Law to install and maintain an ignition interlock on any vehicle owned or operated by the driver for a minimum of six months in addition to the terms of sentence driver receives. 3. The driver’s license is suspended pending prosecution. 4. Intoxicated or impaired drivers who cause the death of a person under 16 years of age may be charged with a Class B Felony which is punishable by up to 25 years in state prison. 5. A driver who is intoxicated or impaired and causes serious physical injury to a child in the vehicle may be charged with a Class C felony and a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. 6. Lastly, if you are the parent, guardian, custodian or any other person legally responsible for a child and you are charged with driving while intoxicated or impaired by drugs while that child is in the vehicle, you will be reported to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment by the arresting agency. (NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services)
The good news is the law seems to be working in Suffolk County. According to the one year report completed by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services Suffolk County has had the highest number of arrests over the year with a total of 67, Erie County second with 57, Westchester third with 45, Monroe County fourth with 41 and Nassau County was fifth highest with 40.
The bad news is that in a one year period 67 people on the roadways of Suffolk County were arrested with a blood alcohol content higher than .08 with children in their car. If you look at the numbers by gender, there were 39 males and 28 females driving while impaired with children in the car.
The arrests were spread out throughout the county and throughout law enforcement departments across the county. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department was responsible for 8 arrests, Suffolk County Police Department made 33 arrests, Sag Harbor Village Police Dept. made 1 arrest as did the Northport Village Police Dept. (1), Westhampton Beach Village Police Dept. 1, East Hampton Town PD 2, Riverhead Town PD. 1, Southampton Town PD 5, Southhold Town PD 1, Suffolk County Park Police 1, NYSP Brentwood 13.
Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick is concerned and acknowledged a certain frustration about this serious problem, “ I don’t get it. We all have pressures and problems in our lives. These people driving are adults, it’s scary to think that they are not more responsible. With the heightened awareness by the media and organizations such as MADD, and SADD, I don’t know what it will take to make people more responsible.”
On December 7, 2010, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously adopted Resolution 2013-2010 introduced by Legislator Lou D’Amaro (17th Legislative District) which establishes a higher standards for breath alcohol ignition interlock devices (BAIID). “These advanced BAIID features are absolutely pivotal to the County’s ongoing efforts to deter drunk driving.” “ My bill sets the highest possible standards for these potentially life-saving devices and will have no impact on the County budget or Suffolk taxpayers because the onus is on the offender to pick up all applicable costs.” said Legislator D’Amaro in a statement he released.
Governor David A. Paterson stated in his press release, “I commend members of the State’s law enforcement community for their enforcement of this important law because every passenger, and certainly every child, deserves a sober driver. All drivers should expect nothing less than sober drivers ahead of them, behind them, and in the oncoming lane of traffic. As we celebrate the holiday season, I urge all New York’s drivers to give their passengers – and their fellow drivers on the road – the gift of a designated driver every time they get behind the wheel.”