New York: Cell phone laws, texting

Cell phone and texting news: New York’s governor has filed legislation for 2010 that would strengthen the state’s recent ban on text messaging while driving. Some 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 prohibitions:
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).

2010 text messaging legislation:
“Bill 222“: Would upgrade the enforcement status of New York’s 2008 text messaging and driving law to primary enforcement, meaning law officers can stop and cite text-messaging drivers for that reason alone. Filed on Feb. 24 by New York Gov. David Paterson (read the texting ban news story).

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.