FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, October 30, 2009

Commissioner David J. Swarts of the Department of Motor Vehicles today reminded motorists that on November 1, 2009 a new law takes effect that eliminates the use of portable electronic devices while driving, which includes texting while driving.

"Driver distraction, such as texting and using portable electronic devices, has become a serious hazard to everyone who uses our roadways," Commissioner Swarts said. "It is our hope that this common sense law will go a long way to significantly improve overall highway safety for all of New York's motorists."

New York has consistently been a leader in increasing highway safety. Under Governor David A. Paterson's leadership, for the last two years the state has had the lowest fatality rate since records were kept in the 1920s. The steps taken today will ensure the trend of increased highway safety continues.

The use of portable electronic devices, such as hand-held mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), while operating a motor vehicle has led to distracted driving, which creates a threat to public safety on our roadways. Crashes due to driver inattention or distraction are on the rise in the United States and they have resulted in fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25 percent of all police-reported crashes involve some form of driver inattention. This new law will help limit driver distraction and inattention by prohibiting any operator in the state from using any portable electronic device while driving, and in turn, enhance highway safety. The new law excludes the use of an iPod or Global Positioning System (GPS) and the use of a hands-free cellular phone to talk is still legal.

New York becomes the 26th state to eliminate, to some extent, the use of such devices while driving. Many localities in New York enacted their own texting ban. This law supersedes those bans and makes this common sense approach consistent throughout the state. The ban on portable electronic devices is a secondary law, which means that for a person to be ticketed for the offense the driver must also have committed a primary enforcement offense such as speeding, disobeying a traffic signal or other violation. The new law is punishable with a fine of up to $150.

The new law also calls for a study on the effects of the use of portable electronic devices while driving, including the effects of driver distraction and the impact on highway safety, to be submitted to the Governor and Legislature in four years.