Increase Penalties Careless Driving

Current law states that a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes bodily injury to another commits a class 1 misdemeanor. The bill adds that, in addition to the class 1 misdemeanor, a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes serious bodily injury to another may also be subject to driver's license suspension for up to one year. The bill increases the penalty for a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of another by:

• Increasing the penalty from a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense to a class 6 felony; and
• Adding the possibility of driver's license suspension for up to one year.

Additionally, if a person commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of more than one other person, each person killed is a separate offense. The bill requires that, if a person commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of another, a law enforcement agent shall administer testing to determine the drug or alcohol content within the person's system. A refusal to submit to the test is evidence of a violation. Current law states that a person who commits careless driving and thereby causes the death of an individual commits a class 1 misdemeanor. The bill expands current law to include careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury and states that if a person commits careless driving and thereby causes the serious bodily injury or death of more than one individual, each person injured or killed is a separate violation. The bill also clarifies that careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death is an included crime for the purposes of the "Victim Rights Act".

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)