The Fourth of July weekend on Long Island is a time for barbecues, fireworks displays and summer fun. Please try to enjoy it all and stay safe. Everyone knows you have to build into your plans a sober way to get home if alcohol or any other substance is part of your celebration. But even if it isn’t, you also have to look out for “the other guy” on the road.
Unfortunately, Independence Day is one of those holidays when more people risk themselves and others by driving drunk or high. According to federal statistics, nationwide 617 people died in car crashes during the 2023 Fourth of July holiday period. Drunk driving accounted for 38% – or 233 – of those fatal crashes. 2,653 lives were lost to drunk driving after Fourth of July celebrations in the 5 years ending in 2023.
The numbers are actually higher, because they do not include drugged drivers.
New York State cannot count all drugged driving fatalities because it prohibits charging drivers who are using substances that are not on an outdated statutory list; things like xylazine, bromazolam, propofol, nitrous oxide or even household products like computer cleaners. Why is New York one of only four states that tie drugged driving to a list, instead of the condition of the driver?
Why has the legislature ignored the safety recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to stop using a list that can never keep up with emerging synthetic drugs and substances? New York’s status as a “high performing” state in the prevention of impaired driving deaths, was recently downgraded to “mid-range” as the number of deaths climb.
My office has been working to close this loophole since 2022, because every family on New York’s roads should be safe. They should feel confident that their safety is the state’s top priority. The Deadly Driving Bill (S.6485c/A3981c) has more than half the NY Senate and 62 Democrat Assembly members as co-sponsors. Leadership in the Assembly undemocratically does not count Republican supporters, but there are more than enough votes to pass this bill. And yet leadership will not let it come to a vote. Why is this undemocratic leadership allowed to persist?
You and your family are in more danger on our roads because drugged drivers cannot be prosecuted when they are obviously impaired and police cannot either say what is causing the impairment, or the substance is not on the list. When drunk drivers are stopped, police do not have to name the type of alcohol the drivers used and the drivers do not get a “pass” when they refuse a test. The Deadly Driving Bill simply applies the same standard to drugs. That’s just common sense.
The day before the Senate ended its session on June 12, 2025, three CSEA union DOT workers were injured when a driver impaired by nitrous oxide crashed into their work zone in upstate New York. The driver could not be charged with drugged driving because of the list requirement. Even that stark reminder of the danger posed by these drivers did not prompt the Senate to vote on the bill. How many people will have to die on our roads before the legislature acts on this common-sense bill?