HB 1529-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2000 SESSION
09/01
HOUSE BILL 1529-FN
AN ACT establishing criminal penalties for aggressive driving (road rage).
SPONSORS: Rep. Pepino, Hills 40; Rep. Hunter, Hills 7; Rep. Welch, Rock 18
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill establishes criminal penalties for aggressive driving.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
00-2024
09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand
AN ACT establishing criminal penalties for aggressive driving (road rage).
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Aggressive Driving; Road Rage; Criminal Penalties Established. Amend RSA 265 by inserting after section 79 the following new section:
265:79-a Aggressive Driving - Road Rage.
I. A person shall be guilty of aggressive driving if he or she:
(a) Operates a motor vehicle with a reckless disregard for the rights of others, or in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger any property or any person.
(b) While operating a motor vehicle, commits 2 or more of the following violations in a single act or series of acts while in close proximity to another motor vehicle:
(1) An unsafe lane change.
(2) Following too closely.
(3) Failure to yield to an overtaking vehicle.
(4) Speeding.
(5) Driving too fast for traffic conditions.
(6) Failing to give an adequate signal.
(7) Racing.
(8) Failure to yield right-of-way.
(c) While operating a motor vehicle, points or brandishes a firearm, or any object similar in appearance to a firearm, whether capable of being fired or not, in such manner as to reasonably induce fear in the mind of another.
(d) Operates a motor vehicle in a threatening or intimidating manner with the intent to cause other motorists to lose control of their motor vehicles or to cause other motorists to be forced off the highway surface.
II. Aggressive driving shall be a class A misdemeanor. A person convicted of aggressive driving shall be subject to a license revocation of 90 days for a first offense and 90 days to 2 years for a second or subsequent offense. Any person convicted of aggressive driving shall also be required to successfully complete and pay the costs of training and educational programs, approved by the department of safety, which are designed to improve the safety and habits of drivers.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2001.
LBAO
00-2024
12/16/99
HB 1529-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing criminal penalties for aggressive driving (road rage).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Administrative Office of the Courts, Judicial Council, and the Department of Corrections have determined this bill may increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2001 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on local expenditures or on state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill creating a class A misdemeanor offense for aggressive driving which includes a wide range of conduct, could have a significant fiscal impact on the Branch, given the possibility of license suspension and a jail term, will in all probability generate a significant number of trials. Costs are judicial and staff time and operating costs primarily in the district courts. Since the Branch cannot predict the level of enforcement, the Branch is unable to accurately predict costs, but it is reasonable to assume additional costs.
The Judicial Council assumed that any cases arising from the enactment of this law for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will, in the first instance be handled by the Public Defender or contract attorneys who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $250 for each misdemeanor charge. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $1,000 for misdemeanor cases will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or "services other than counsel" are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases or trials which may arise as a result of the passage of this legislation, therefor, they are unable to estimate the dollar amount of the anticipated costs of such representation.
The Department of Corrections has stated misdemeanor offense sentences are served in a county facility. The increased costs to counties cannot be estimated. If probation supervision is ordered, the average cost for probation supervision for FY 1999 was $842 per offender. It is not possible to estimate how many individuals would be sentenced to probation services.
The Department of Justice has stated any increased costs can be assumed within the Departments existing budget.