Bill seeks aid to fight drugged driving

Faced with a dramatic increase in the number of people driving under the influence of drugs, the Nassau County district attorney and a U.S. senator Sunday called for passage of a bill that would provide equipment and training for police to combat the problem.

"It is the public health crisis of the future," said District Attorney Kathleen Rice, adding that drugged driving and the string of pharmacy shootings on Long Island are "two effects of the same cause."

Sen. Charles Schumer, speaking at a news conference with Rice in Manhattan about the issue, encouraged passage of the Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2011. The measure, co-sponsored by Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mark Prior (D-Ark.), would provide $140 million to the federal Department of Transportation and states to develop technology to identify drugged drivers at the scene and train police officers to detect signs of drug-impaired driving.

The bill has passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is expected to reach the Senate floor next month.

"Because of the explosion of prescription drug abuse in New York and in communities around the country, this dangerous new trend is certainly going to get worse unless we do something about it," Schumer said.

He noted two fatal accidents on Long Island in December involving allegedly drugged drivers.

John Gaffney, 5, of West Islip, was riding with his family in their Dodge dual-cab pickup truck on Sunrise Highway in Shirley when it was hit from behind by a Toyota Scion driven by Steven Kinalis, 30, of Ronkonkoma, Suffolk police said. Gaffney died the following day from his injuries. Kinalis was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs. Prosecutors said they may upgrade the charge pending the results of a blood test.

In the other crash, Maria Galeas, 40, of Medford, was struck and killed as she stood behind a car parked along Horseblock Road, Suffolk police said. Elizabeth Peacock, 45, of Medford, was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs.

Schumer said that he hopes the bill will spur the invention of a tool that will give police the ability to quickly and reliably check for drug intoxication at road stops.

There is no device that can detect drugs in the body as easily as a breath analyzer can detect alcohol. Detecting drugs often requires blood, urine and hair follicle tests, as well as saliva swabs.

Additionally, Schumer said, the money will go toward training police to discern drug intoxication from the driver's eye movements, behavior and other indicators. Currently, it takes 200 hours of training for a police officer to be certified as a drug recognition expert, a costly program in a time of government cutbacks, he said.

Drugged driving arrests on the rise