• 12
  • December
    2011

A recent change to New York's no-texting-while-driving law has resulted in a ticketing boon for New York police.

Texting can be incredibly distracting, and has been the cause of countless car accidents in New York - which is why states throughout the country, including New York, have passed statutes prohibiting texting while behind the wheel.

Penalties for Violating Texting-While-Driving Law in New York

Even though New York's texting law has been in effect since 2009, police were previously unable to issue tickets under the law unless they could pull the driver over for violating another law. However, the 2011 change made a violation of the texting-while-driving law a primary offense - so police are now able to stop drivers solely for violating the texting law. A violation of this law now carries a three-point driving penalty - which can lead to a fine of up to $150.

Police Enforcement of Texting-While-Driving Law

When the law change was passed last July, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, ""We were serious when this law passed: texting while driving is illegal and the law is being enforced, so don't do it."

As it turns out, the police have been very serious about enforcing the new version of the law. Prior to the change, police had issued on average 427 texting-while-driving tickets per month to drivers. However in the first month following the change, police issued a total of 1,082 tickets - more than double the total during the same month last year.

Ultimately, the goal of New York's texting law is to reduce distracted driving, and thus car accidents. Unfortunately, no amount of caution can protect you from other careless drivers who fail to adhere to the law though.

Source: N.Y. law sends texting-while-driving tickets soaring