Drivers face new cell-phone penalties

For nearly a quarter-mile down the Long Island Expressway, the marked sheriff's cruiser hung on the tail of the driver gabbing away on his cell phone - and the driver kept chatting, apparently oblivious.

The driver, Tom Guadagno, 47, of Ronkonkoma, later admitted he never noticed the deputy sheriff, who eventually put his flashing lights on.

"See? That's how distracted they are," said Deputy Sheriff Tom Patterson after stopping Guadagno Wednesday near Exit 57 in Islandia. "He didn't even see me."

Patterson ticketed Guadagno for driving while talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device.

Had Guadagno gotten the ticket a day earlier, he would have faced at most a $100 fine. But he was pulled over Wednesday for the cell phone violation - on the first day drivers in New York State additionally face 2 points on their license.

"As the word gets out and spreads, and some people have the personal experience of what happens with racking up these summonses, the compliance will go up," said Robert Sinclair of the American Automobile Association.

Sinclair noted that points mean higher car insurance rates, and that accumulating 11 or more points within 18 months - other violations for which points are levied include speeding and unsafe driving - will result in the suspension of a driver's license.

During the morning rush, deputy sheriffs on the LIE had issued 19 tickets for the cell phone violation.

As of the afternoon, Nassau police had issued three summonses for the cell phone law. State police didn't return a call seeking the numbers of violations.

Guadagno said he didn't know about the enhanced penalty - and said he doesn't own a hands-free device.

"Cell phones were one of the worst inventions ever made," he said. "I'm not saying I was right. I'm not saying it was wrong. It is what it is."

A short time earlier, Patterson had spotted another violator.

"Here we go. Here we go, right there," said Patterson to a Newsday reporter riding along, saying he had spotted Andre Garner talking on his cell phone while driving westbound on the LIE about a half a mile from Exit 62 in Holtsville.

Garner, of Philadelphia, would later say he was fielding a call from his wife with news that his youngest daughter was having contractions and would soon going to give birth to their third grandchild.

Garner, who was driving a truck, said he spotted the patrol car flashing its lights behind him before he abruptly hung up on his wife and then dropped his phone. "I thought 'I can't believe it! You gotta be kidding me,' " said Garner, 48.

By the time Patterson was done, Garner got three tickets plus the cell phone violation.Then there was Stephen Spinelli, 45, Wading River, whom Patterson let go with a warning.

Spinelli claimed he was on his speakerphone. Patterson said he saw Spinelli with his phone about four inches away from his ear.

"He really didn't understand the law," Patterson said. "Hands-free means hands-free."

Rules of the Road

TWO FOR THE ROAD

Driving while talking into a cell phone without using a handsfree device could leave you with two for the road: two points on your license, that is. That's in addition to the existing fine - as much as $100.

CAN YOU FINE ME NOW?

Texting and driving has a 2-point penalty a $150 fine.

PUTTING THE BRAKE ON YOUR LICENSE

11 points or more within 18 months means a license suspension.

PARK YOUR CELL

Talking on a cell phone without a handsfree device is a primary violation, meaning that police can stop you for that offense alone. But to pull you over for texting and driving, authorities must first have another reason - such as speeding or unsafe driving. That's because texting and driving is a so-called secondary violation. - MATTHEW CHAYES