New York: Cell phone laws, texting

Cell phone and texting news: New York’s Assembly has approved legislation that would strengthen the state’s recent ban on text messaging while driving to “primary enforcement.” The plan came from the governor.

Numerous city and county legislators have pushed for tougher local laws, since the state law calls for “secondary” enforcement. (View New York regional texting and driving legislation.)

Current distracted driving laws ($150 fine):

• Drivers must use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones.
• Text messaging and related uses of handheld electronic devices banned in New York (secondary enforcement).
• Taxi cab drivers in New York City banned from using cell phones.

2010 text messaging legislation:
A10063: Makes driving and using a portable handheld device a primary offense in the state of New York, meaning law officers can stop and cite drivers for that reason alone. Filed at the request of the governor. Latest action: Approved by the Assembly in a unanimous vote on July 1. To the Senate, where prospects are uncertain. (Weisenberg)

S6992: Makes driving and using a portable handheld device a primary offense. Same as A10063, above. Filed at the request of the governor. (Dilan)

A09802: Would make use of a portable electronic device while driving a primary offense, given police the right to stop and cite violators for that reason alone. Also calls for distracted driving education efforts in pre-licensing materials and tests, as well as defensive driving courses and traffic school. (Quinn)

A09229: Changes wording of existing law against use of handheld electronics while driving. Would no longer require defendants to prove they were not violating the law, only to provide evidence that is “tending to show” no violation occurred. Same as S06810. (Gantt)

S06810: Same as A09229, above. (Diaz)

2010 distracted driving notes:
Syracuse received federal funding for its four-part crackdown on distracted driving. The latest (second) sweep started July 22 and ran through the end of the month. The DMV reported that 2,146 tickets were written for cell phone or text messaging violations. In April, police cited 2,185 drivers for cell phone violations and 115 for text messaging. The other crackdowns are Oct. 7-16 and April 7-16, 2011. Law officers get overtime for their participation. The DMV commissioner says the crackdown is a model program that could work statewide and nationwide.

New York State Police conducted their third “Operation Hang Up” sweep on the Thruway and I-84 (mid-Hudson Valley) during early May. The original “Hang Up” of 2009 yielded 816 tickets for use of handheld electronic devices.

New York Gov. David Paterson filed proposed legislation in February (“Program Bill 222“) to upgrade distracted driving legislation to primary enforcement. The resulting pieces of legislation are A10063 and S6992 (read the texting ban news story).

New York’s ban on cabbies’ use of cell phones resulted in more than 1,500 tickets during its first three months. The law, which went into effect Jan. 29, calls for $350 fines. Indignant fares can call 311 to report blabbing taxi cab drivers, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says.

Statewide, law officers have written about 2 million tickets for violations of the handheld cell phone ban since it went into effect in December 2001. The average rate of ticketing for cell phone violations over that nine-year stretch is 185 citations per 1,000 drivers, state motor department officials say. Almost 65 percent of the violations came in New York City.

On June 22, NYPD ran a sweep on drivers who text or talk on cell phones. The ticket crackdown covered the five boroughs.

2009 legislation:
A8568: Would ban use of portable electronic devices for all drivers. Covers text messaging, sending email, Internet browsing, game playing, etc. Fines would be up to $150 and violations would be secondary offenses, meaning police would need another reason for pulling over a driver. (The governor filed legislation in February 2010 to upgrade to primary enforcement.) Part of a larger driver safety bill sponsored by Assembly Transportation Committee chairman David Gantt. Approved by the Assembly and Senate in mid-summer and signed by Gov. David Paterson on Aug. 27. The ban took effect Nov. 1. The bill originated with Paterson’s motor vehicle department.

A6074: Would prohibit the writing, reading or sending of text on a cell phone while driving. Also seeks to create a cell phone safety component to pre-licensing drivers education. (Same as S536)

A2453: Would ban texting on a mobile phone while driving. Same as S587.

A6481: Seeks to ban text messaging while driving.

S1877: Would prohibit use of all cell phones and text messaging devices for drivers with learner’s and restricted licenses. Also cites “digital imaging and entertainment.”

S1547: Would require police accident reports to indicate whether cell phones contributed to crashes in New York. OK’d by the Senate. (Similar to the inactive A4184.)

A2031: Would ban drivers from using cell phones to send text messages. (Same as S741)

A00786: Proposes sanctions against “inattentive driving.”

Cell phone, texting legislation notes:
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, saw his text-messaging legislation incorporated into a larger driving-safety bill backed by Assembly Transportation Committee chairman David Gantt (A8568). “This was common-sense legislation that was overdue … and finally we have a bill that will keep our highways and roadways safe,” Ortiz said. The fine for text messaging and driving in New York state is $150.

Any state text-messaging ban would overrule city and country bans, which have spread throughout the state due to inaction in Albany.

Transportation Committee chairman Gantt has been under fire for stalling driver-safety legislation. A father whose teen daughter died in a drag-racing crash says, “We need to let people know who is standing in the way, like Gantt.” The New York Times called for his replacement over opposition to red-light cameras.

The Senate has approved S1547A, requiring police to report on the role of cell phones in crashes. The legislation passed on a vote of 47 to 12 on March 25, 2009. It has been returned to the House and assigned to the transportation committee.

New York was a leader in cell-phone restrictions on drivers, passing its widely copied hands-free law in 2001.

Text-messaging legislation, gained momentum after an upstate crash killed five teens. The driver’s cell phone was used to send and receive text messages just before the deadly accident.

“Text messaging is the ultimate distraction,” Senate sponsor Carl Marcellino, D-Long Island, told the Daily News. (Washington’s text-messaging ban took effect in July, 2008.)

2008 New York legislation:
S3195 and A7299: Would have added text messaging to current ban on drivers’ use of hand-held cell phones. Would create a “cell phone safety” component to driver education courses. The Senate approved the measure May 27, 2008. The legislation was last reported in the state Assembly transportation committee.

S8332: Would have prohibited teens under 18 from the use of any hand-held electronic device while driving. GPS navigation systems are included in the ban. Sponsored by Sen. Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn. Died in the Assembly Transportation Committee.

A05322: Would have prohibited drivers with learner’s permits or restricted licenses from using cell phones, with or without a hands-free device. Extends to all drivers under the age of 20 and all drivers in the first two years of holding driver licenses.

A05772: Drivers who cause injuries or deaths while distracted by a cell phone would have been treated the same as drunken drivers. Two points against drivers convicted of being in violation of cell phone laws.