THE AMA CORNER
By Larry Schwartz
President, District III
December 2003
I know it’s been a long time between AMA
Corners, but there was little to tell you until presently about
political items and legislative work.
This year
…Prospector and I will be concentrating on making sure that the
bills that have already been passed and signed by the Governor are
actually implemented. It’s one thing to have a bill on paper and
in law, but it’s totally another to see that law become effective.
Consequently,
we’re not going to be introducing any new legislation this year,
just work on what’s already there. First of all, let’s talk
about the Yield the Right of Way bill. As you may or may not
know, this bill which is Assembly bill 8095 and Senate bill 2178
has been in the works for a couple of sessions now.
Fortunately,
the Senate passed the bill last June. Now, we have to concentrate
on the State Assembly. The bills’ sponsor is Deputy Majority
Leader Ronald Canestrari. I’ve made an appointment for us on
December 16th to see Ron and tell him that we really
need him to press for this bill in this session. Naturally, he
has a lot of other things on his mind, like the state budget which
is always paramount. However, I think and hope he’ll be
cooperative and talk with Transportation Committee chairman David
Gantt about letting this bill through committee.
One of the
obstacles we face here is that the transportation analyst for
what’s called the Central Program Committee, while a very nice
lady, has little recognition of the need for this bill.
Prospector met with her recently and she gave him little optimism
about the bill, saying that traffic violation fines as a whole
were increased last session. What she failed to say or realize is
that the violations she was talking about have nothing to do with
nor are they related to yield the right of way violations that
might end in injury or death. Do we need this bill? Take a look
at this letter from a woman who suffered real loss because of
someone who would not yield. She both e-mailed Gantt and then
wrote a letter. Here are both:
MARY INNES WAGNER
564 Linden Street
Rochester, NY 14620-2421
585-271-8816
10/18/03
Assemblyman David F. Gantt
Chairman, NYS Transportation Committee
74 University Avenue
Rochester, NY 14605
Sir:
As Chairman of the Assembly’s Transportation
Committee, I wanted to make you aware of a situation our family is
dealing with and ask your guidance in what else we can do to bring
this to resolution.
A brief outline of the situation is:
My brother (61) and a passenger were riding a
motorcycle in Allegany County on June 28 on an open highway
when a pickup truck pulled in front of him causing an accident
that shut a state highway down for over an hour.
My brother was taken via Mercy Flight to
Strong Memorial Hospital in critical condition with a severed
pelvis and severe loss of blood.
By his own admission at the scene, the driver
of the pickup (25) admitted fault and was cited under section
1140-B for failure to yield the right of way in an intersection.
On July 7 the driver of the pickup truck pled
not guilty. An appearance date was set for 9/8 to set a trial
date.
July 12 my brother passed away as a direct
result of his injuries.
July 18 we held the wake and funeral service
for my brother. Over 1000 people came through the receiving line
with over 120 turned away at the door at the time the funeral
started.
No additional charges have been filed by the
DA although a death is involved. At this point we are told the
maximum penalties that the defendant faces are points on his
license and a fine.
No word was heard from the police/court/DA on
status accident until I began calling various agencies in Allegany
and Steuben counties the last week of August.
The defendant’s attorney did not appear on
9/8. Another appearance date was set for 10/6. At that
appearance, a trial date was set for 10/27.
September 11 my sister-in-law (widow of my
brother) and I met with the Victim’s Advocate of Allegany County
who was helpful in explaining what the legal process is and what
options are available to us but had not been given critical pieces
of information (i.e.: previous driving record of the pickup
driver, name and address of defense attorney, if drug/alcohol
tests had been done on the driver of the pickup). She did supply
us with a copy of the preliminary and final police report and
photos taken by the police at the scene.
The Victim’s Advocate suggested a letter
writing campaign to let the judge overseeing the case know of the
impact of my brother’s loss on the family.
September 12 I was able to find out the MVR
history of the pickup driver (2 license suspensions, one other
accident). The accident of 6/28 did not appear on the state
records as of this date.
On September 14, a letter was sent to the
Foreman of the Sitting Grand Jury (with copies to the two County
Court Judges listed on NYS web page) asking they investigate if
additional charges should be levied against the driver of the
pickup.
The letter writing campaign was started in
mid-September and continues with letters to the Judge and the DA.
As you can see from the attached death
notice, my brother left behind not only a large family but his
activities in the community will leave a large hole that needs to
be filled. One recent goal that is not mentioned in the notice is
he was in the process of running again for Justice of the Peace.
Please understand that none in the family is
out for vengeance. Nothing is going to bring my brother back.
However, I am so deeply concerned that this will happen to someone
else. The driver of the pickup took away a beautiful individual,
a fun-loving brother, loving husband, dedicated father, adoring
grandfather, community leader and active volunteer giving freely
of his time and skills to better his fellow man.
My brother received an eternal sentence. His
brothers, sisters, wife children and grand-children, his
passenger, his friends and associates have received a life
sentence. The pickup driver may receive points and a fine. This
is not justice, it is a miscarriage of justice.
I am aware of a bill currently before your
committee (A.8095) that would impose mandatory penalties and fines
in wrongful death accidents such as my brother’s. A sister bill
passed the Senate in June. I implore you to please pursue passage
of this bill so that families who experience this type of tragedy
in the future will find some peace in knowing there is a more
equitable punishment for their actions.
Thank you in advance for your help. I await
your response.
Sincerely,
Mary Innes Wagner
Now the e-mail Ms. Wagner sent later:
MARY INNES WAGNER
564 Linden Street
Rochester, NY 14620-2421
585-271-8816
11/30/03
Assemblyman David F. Gantt
Chairman, NYS Transportation Committee
LOB 830
Albany, NY 12248
Sir:
On 10/18/03 I wrote to you regarding the
death of my brother, John F. Innes. For your convenience I have
included a copy.
First let me say I am deeply disappointed
that neither you nor anyone in your office responded to that
letter.
As an update, the killer of my brother
received the maximum allowed by law, 3 points on his license and a
$100 fine. As I stated before, this is not justice, it is a
miscarriage of justice. I find it deplorable that a speeding
ticket can carry a heftier fine than a ticket involving a
fatality.
As mentioned in my letter of October 18, I am
aware of a bill currently before your committee (A.8095) that
would impose mandatory penalties and fines in wrongful death
accidents such as my brother’s. A sister bill passed the Senate in
June. I ask that you begin immediately the process to bring this
issue to the floor of the Assembly. I also ask that you hold
public hearings on this issue to get the input from our state’s
citizens. Families who experience this type of tragedy deserve
the right to know the killers of their loved ones are not roaming
our roads free to kill again.
I await your response.
Sincerely,
Mary Innes Wagner
Cc: Joseph Robach, Senator
Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the
Assembly
Susan John, Assemblyman
Imre Szauter, American Motorcycle
Association
Karen Magnuson,
Editor, Democrat & Chronicle
John Anderson, Sunday Spectator
Anyway, as you can see, it takes that
face-to-face every week while the legislature is in session to get
people to move and face up to a problem. That’s what we’ll be
doing this session on this bill. If you want to help, please
write your assemblyman/woman and ask them to talk to both Gantt
and Speaker Sheldon Silver about moving this bill.
I have e-mailed Ms. Wagner, asking her if
she would be willing to come to Albany and lobby with us on the 16th
and am hoping to hear from her shortly.
I am also
making an effort to get an appointment with Gantt on the 16th
to double up with Canestrari to get this legislation moving.
I’ve sent a
letter off to the State Education Department’s Assistant
Commissioner in charge of curriculum to find out why nothing is
apprently being done on implementing the law signed by the
Governor a couple of years ago that mandates motorcycle awareness
training in all automobile driver ed courses in the state and in
effect, demanding that something be done. I have not yet received
a reply to that inquiry. However, I cc’d it to John Frederick,
the legislative director for Steve Sanders, Chairman of the
Assembly Education Committee. He will be calling Assistant
Commissioner Jean Stevens after my meeting with Canestrari on the
16th when I will ask him to do something about it since
he sponsored the bill for us. Here is the letter:
Larry Schwartz
President, District III
American Motorcyclist Ass’n.
15 Dawn Drive
Glenville, N.Y. 12302
Hon. Jean Stevens
Assistant
Commissioner
NYS Education
Department
Room 319
Education
Building
Albany, N.Y.
12234
November 17,
2003
Dear
Commissioner Stevens:
Several years
ago, the legislature passed A-5822 and S-2905 which requires that
motorcycle safety awareness be taught in every automobile drivers
education course. The Governor signed the measure into law. At
that time, I informed your predecessor, Roseanne DeFabio of very
reasonably priced materials that could be procured from the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation in Irvine, California by either the
Department or the driving programs in the state. She said she
would pass it on to whomever is in charge of that. They have both
printed and visual materials for everything needed.
I have
checked with more than several driving schools in the past year
and absolutely nothing has been passed on to them nor implemented
concerning this law.
I am writing
to you to ask you to do whatever is necessary to implement this
law. Motorcycling has been experiencing a tremendous mushrooming
of participation in the past ten years and there seems to be no
letup in that trend. The biggest threat to motorcyclists is
drivers who are not even aware that motorcycles are on the road
and are not looking for them as they would other vehicles. That’s
what this program would address with every newly educated
motorist. Every May, the Governor, Democrat or Republican,
declares that month Motorcycle Awareness month. We really need
implementation of the law as the major part of the effort to make
sure that drivers are aware of the growing number of motorcyclists
on New York State Roads.
Thank you and
if your office could contact me to let me know what is being done,
I would appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Cc: John
Frederick
Larry
Schwartz
President,
District III
American
Motorcyclist Assoc.
Prospector
and I will also be meeting with Larry Moyer, who, as an assistant
Sgt.-at-Arms in the State Assembly has access to all the
legislators while they’re in session. We’ll be discussing how
best to get a form made up that will be accepted by all law
enforcement bodies in the state re: motorcycle accidents. That
form would have on it the kinds of questions that police should be
asking at the scenes of motorcycle accidents.
As you may
remember, we got passed and signed an Anti-Discrimination bill
that forbids communities from barring motorcycles from any road,
street or highway that uses state funds to design, construct or
maintain those roads. That would cover about every road, street
and highway in the state. A very meaningful bill.
We are also
working to make sure that D.O.T. comes through on their promise
that signs would be put up when road is grooved for resurfacing to
warn motorcyclists(and other motorists) before they got to it.
As you may
remember, we got passed the bill that would have lowered tolls on
the New York State Thruway, but it was vetoed by the Governor at
the time. There still may be something coming our way on that in
the future, but it would probably be tied to E-Z pass.
We’re still
working on the helmet amendment and will keep pursuing it as well
as the bill that would not set a limit on the height of
handlebars.
We were also
instrumental in getting the ban on cell phoning while driving put
in place, even though we know it’s probably unenforceable most of
the time.
So, that’s
where we are right now and we’ll keep you up to date on what’s
happening. Meanwhile, please contribute to the AMA-PAC. Checks
can be made out to AMA-PAC and sent to me, Larry Schwartz at 15
Dawn Drive, Glenville, New York 12302. Thank you everyone for
your support. Ride safe and ride free. Until the next time…
