Assemblywoman Simon is the new Sponsor of .05 BAC Bill in New York State


Assemblywoman Simon
District 52 Brooklyn

Since January I have been actively seeking a replacement for Asst. Speaker, Felix Ortiz, who wrote the original .05 bill in 2013. Unfortunately, the Asst. Speaker was defeated in the 2020 Democratic primary. This search was made more difficult since we were still in the middle of the pandemic and the shutdown of the Capital. So I’m happy to announce that Assemblywoman Jo Anne SImon representing Brooklyn has agreed to introduce the Assembly version of the .05 bill, AO7197, which will lower the legal BAC from .08 to .05 and lower the aggravated BAC threshold from .18 to .12.

In 2004, she was elected female District Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District. The Assemblywoman was one of 15 co-sponsors of the previous .05 bill. RID is happy to have someone with her background and experience to help navigate the bill through the rigorous legislative process. I want to thank Assemblywoman Simon and her staff for stepping up in this leadership role. I’m planning a press conference at the Capital to announce the assemblywoman as sponsor of the bill. There will be road safety and victim advocates speaking about the merits of AO7197 at the event as well. I will post the date once everything has been finalized.

Daily Gazette Editorial on .05

LOWERING THE BAC TO 0.05?

From the Daily Gazette Editorial Board, December 16, 2018

New York, at some point should also look into lowering the blood alcohol threshold for DWI from the current nationwide standard of 0.08 percent blood alcohol content (BAC) to 0.05 percent.

That’s the equivalent of about two beers per hour for a 120-pound woman and about three for a 150-pound man.

There’s a bill in the state Assembly (A2302) that would lower the limit.

Some, including the organization Remove Intoxicated Drivers, backed by two federal studies, contend the 0.05 BAC could go even further to reduce the chances of a fatal crash, perhaps preventing 500-800 deaths a year.

The lower threshold also might help deter more excessive drinking and send a strong message to all drivers about the toughness of the state’s laws.

But another anti-DWI organization, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has consistently opposed lowering the BAC level to 0.05.

They argue it would be hard to enforce because most people at that level could pass a field sobriety test, that police wouldn’t want to go around arresting people for such a low level of intoxication, and that juries might be reluctant to impose significant penalties on someone arrested for driving under the influence of two or three beers.

MADD also says the lower BAC would distract from other, more effective means of reducing DWI crashes caused by high-BAC drunk driving, drugged driving and distracted driving.

The lower limit also might not have widespread popular support, even among those who support tough DWI laws.

So passage will require a major political effort.

About 100 developed countries have lowered their DWI threshold to that level, resulting in an average decline in drunk driving crashes of about 8 percent.

But so far, only one state in the United States, Utah, has voted to lower the BAC to 0.05.

The law doesn’t take effect until next month, so there are no statistics about its impact on drunk driving, enforcement or on retail or restaurant sales of alcohol.

New York officials should monitor that state’s efforts and consider this legislation in the future.

We need to send a strong message to potential drunk drivers that the state will not tolerate drunk driving and that if you do drive drunk, the penalties will be severe and long-lasting.

The Legislature can send that message by passing tougher laws for first-time offenders, repeat offenders and those who drive at high levels of intoxication.

Drunk driving never should have been acceptable.

Now more than ever, it must be intolerable.

Final Good-byes to an Iconic Leader

On a sunny day with light breeze, the community said good-bye to Doris Aiken, 90 at a memorial service honoring her held at the Unitarian Church in Schenectady, NY. There were over a 100 in attendance. Doris’s Grand Daughter, Charlotte played the Swallow Tailed Gig on her Viola. Family members spoke of her courage as an activist and Mother. Friends and colleagues reflected on Doris’s unrelenting spirit and optimism.  15 years ago, Doris wrote her own obituary, which was read by her son-in-law Tom Buckley. The reading gave the service a light touch of humor, displaying Doris’s gift of self-deprecation.

Carl Strock, a retired columnist stated, “Its one thing to change laws. What Doris Aiken did was change attitudes. Among her many achievements, that I think is her most impressive feat.”

Her son, William, who has been running RID along with his sister, Jane will continue RID’s Mission to fight for the rights of victims, Doris started nearly 40 years ago. Doris leaves behind a legacy the includes the use of victim impact statements at sentencing hearings of defendants, a practice she helped to implement that has become a staple of the criminal justice system.

 

Mission Statement

RID’s mission is to deter drunk driving, underage drinking and help the victims of drunk driving. Since our inception in 1978, RID has never accepted any funding from the alcohol industry. In May of 2021, RID decided our administrators would no longer draw a salary. As of April 2023 RID is no longer a 501(c-3). So donations made to RID are no longer tax-deductable.

RID has 35 chapters in 25 States. Our chapters operate completely autonomous. RID believes its chapters can be more effective if they are able to operate independently, free of red tape and layers of bureaucracy which can encumber their ability to function in a successful manner and make decisions in a timely fashion.

RID produces a newsletter twice a year to promote effective strategies to combat drunken driving, highlight the work being done by individual chapters across the nation, publishing studies which analyzes the impact of drunken driving and educating the public on the consequences of drunken driving and teenage binge drinking.

RID offers support to victims of drunken driving; provide referral service information as well as advice for victims on how to navigate the criminal court system. RID is a strong advocate for legislation all over the country that lowers the BAC level from .08 to .05. RID has partnered with the advocacy group, .05saveslives to assist efforts to pass .05 legislation.

Doris Aiken featured in Daily Gazette

Aiken still passionate about the cause she started

Doris Aiken smiles in the living room of her Nott Street home in Schenectady.

Photographer: Peter R. Barber
Doris Aiken smiles in the living room of her Nott Street home in Schenectady.

 

Doris Aiken was 51 years old when she started Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID), an organization that began in her home in Schenectady and took root across America.
That was back in the 1970s, when in most cases, it was not a crime to drive drunk and kill a human being.
Aiken became a leader in an anti-drunken driving movement that changed American society.
“I was just following my heart in drawing attention to a system that was routinely failing the victims of drunken drivers,” she says in the latest issue of the RID newsletter.
Doris Aiken with Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in 1984. Aiken, a lifelong Democrat, worked with D'Amato, a Republican, to help pass the law that raised New York State's drinking age from 18 to 21. (photo provided)

Doris Aiken with Sen. Alfonse D’Amato in 1984. Aiken, a lifelong Democrat, worked with D’Amato, a Republican, to help pass the law that raised New York State’s drinking age from
18 to 21. (photo provided)
Aiken, who is now a 90-year-old grandmother, is still president of the organization, its advisor and a voting member of the RID board. This fall, she passed the day-to-day duties to her
son William Aiken. Her daughter Jane Wyatt Aiken is the newsletter editor and manages the accounting and mailing list. Doris’ husband, William S. Aiken Sr., who was vice president
and general manager of RID, died in 2004.
Doris launched her campaign on Dec. 5, 1977 after she saw a story in The Daily Gazette about a horrible accident in Glenville.
Karen and Timothy Morris, ages 17 and 19, were hit by a driver who was drunk at the wheel with an open can of beer between his knees. Timothy was killed instantly. Karen died 48
hours later at Ellis Hospital.
When Doris contacted the district attorney’s office, she found out that the driver would not go to jail or lose his license. It was only an accident, she was told.
With the help of her church, Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady, in 1978, Doris put together a group that became RID, America’s first anti-drunken driving organization.
By 1983, RID had 130 chapters in 30 states.
Today, the non-profit RID USA Inc. has 35 chapters in 25 states that operate autonomously.
RID has never taken money from the alcohol industry and is funded entirely through its book and video sales, charitable donations and grants.
When it comes to the cause, Doris remains as passionate as ever.
Earlier this month, The Gazette visited Doris and her son in their home near Ellis Hospital, which for 38 years has also been the headquarters for RID.

Faith in people

A gracious woman with pale ginger hair, Doris was eager to talk about RID and the volunteers that keep it going.
“I feel very grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference. And I’m proud about the people I got to know. All different kinds of people,” she says.
Looking forward, Doris says she has faith that younger generations will keep the fight going and change attitudes even more.
“I feel very confident that we’re going to get rid of the drunk driving menace in this country as well as other countries,” she says.
Young people and drunk driving is one of her special interests.
“We have a high level of young people being killed. It’s difficult for young people to grasp that,” she says.
“They have an obligation, no matter how terrific the next beer party is, to just say ‘no.’ ”
Young people can be the “leaders in the new growing field of people who do not drink and drive,” she says. “And when that happens, we’re going to see
fewer mangled cars and fewer broken hearts. These accidents with young people need never happen.”
And parents must be the role models, she says.
“We shouldn’t let our children get the idea that it’s really cool to go to a drinking party.”
When you host a party, look out for people who are drinking too much and make sure their spouse, partner or friend knows that that person won’t be able
to drive home, she advises.
“You have an obligation to report anyone who is inebriated on the road or if they are going to leave your house from a party.”
Another party tip is to pick a family member who can drive someone home if needed.
“That’s what a host has to do. You have to love your guests and take care of them if you are going to serve drinks.”
For more information about RID, go to www.rid-usa.org or phone 888-283-5144.
Reach Gazette reporter Karen Bjornland at 395-3197, kbjornland@dailygazette.net or on Twitter @bjorngazette.