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State Senator Mike NozzolioContinuing his aggressive efforts to keep New York’s roadways safe, New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio today announced that the State Senate has enacted legislation he fought to adopt (S.164C) which creates a  new penalty for a licensed driver who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and is supervising a unlicensed driver.

“This legislation closes a significant loophole by making it clear that if you are supervising a younger driver, you must be sober,” said Nozzolio. “People who are supervising unlicensed drivers have the same responsibility to be fully aware and capable of operating a vehicle as the driver. Those who supervise a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs must be held accountable for their dangerous, irresponsible actions.”

Under this legislation, known as “Abbagail’s Law”, a supervising driver with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.18 percent or more would be charged with a Class E felony. The law is named after eight-year-old Abbagail Buzard, who was killed in September 2009 after leaving a family gathering when her father, who had been drinking, convinced a 17-year-old cousin with a learner’s permit to drive him to a store to get more beer. The young driver was operating the vehicle at dangerous speeds and lost control of the car. Abbagail was thrown from the car when it rolled down an embankment, eventually trapping her underneath the car and killing her. Under current law, neither the driver nor the father could be prosecuted for the circumstances leading to her death.

“The tragic death of Abbagail Buzard demonstrates that new protections are needed to prevent supervising drivers from endangering the lives of everyone on the road by getting in the car while under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” said Nozzolio. “I am proud that we were able to enact this legislation to ensure that New York continues to have some of the toughest penalties against drunk driving in the Nation.”

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