This October, eleven-year-old Leandra was killed on the way to a slumber party—the driver, a family friend, was drunk.
At first, her father, Lenny Rosado, wanted to stay in his room and cry, but then he thought of what Leandra would have liked him to do. “At that point I said to myself, I lost my best friend, my daughter,” he said. “My daughter didn’t like bullies, people who drink and drive are bullies. As a father, I’m going to do what I have to do to stop other people from suffering.”
One month later, Governor David Paterson signed Leandra’s law, one of the toughest impaired driving laws in the country—making it a felony to drive intoxicated with a child under 15. The law specifies a minimum sentence of one year in a state prison starting at 0.08 blood alcohol level—an offense that was previously a misdemeanor. The penalty is higher if serious injury or death is caused.
“He [Rosado] was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Tom McCoy, executive director of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) New York at a press conference in Manhattan on Wednesday. The law had stalled in the assembly for two years before a major accident in August and Leandra’s death in October brought it national attention.
McCoy spoke at O’Casey’s pub, as part of a press conference that announced new safety measures to prevent drunk driving during the holidays. City and state law enforcement officials, representatives of restaurant and tavern owners, and members from MADD were present.
Another important aspect of the law makes it mandatory for those convicted for DWI (driving while intoxicated) to install an ignition interlock system in their car, requiring them to pass a Breathalyzer test before being able to start the car. One third of drunk driver fatalities are from repeat offenders, said McCoy.
“If you can’t stop the drunk from driving the car, then you stop the car from driving the drunk,” said Peggy Lang whose son was killed eight years ago on Christmas Day. She has since fought for the interlock system.
BADD: Bars Against Drunk Driving
Bar and restaurant owners have also joined forces in an initiative to discourage drunk drivers in New York. Paul Hurley, president of United Restaurant & Tavern Owners of NY announced the launch of the first New York City chapter of BADD: Bars Against Drunk Driving, an initiative that will teach alcohol safety measures to bar and restaurant workers across the city.
So far, 500 to 600 establishments have joined the initiative and the association is working to have approximately 3,000 members join. “We are going to give it 110 percent and cooperate fully to make sure this succeeds,” Hurley said.
The training initiatives include trying to ensure that patrons are not getting too intoxicated, stop them from driving, and having a zero tolerance policy on underage drinkers. The local security industry will also assist bar managers in identifying drunken customers who need to be discouraged from driving.
Assistant Commissioner Robert Messner supported the initiative. “We see this as a significant effort to address the problem of over service, in other words serving people who are intoxicated, which is illegal under state law, and also working for designated drivers,” he said. Messner said bars should encourage patrons to use New York’s extensive mass transit system.
TV reality series actress, Flo, from the Bad Girls Club expressed her support for safe driving initiatives. She said she feels guilty for allowing a friend to drive drunk, and part of her plan is to go to colleges and discourage students from drinking and driving. “You can still party and have fun and have a great time, but it’s not hard—just get someone who doesn’t drink [to drive],” said Flo. She said everyone has a friend who doesn’t drink and drive.
