Cops: 204 summonses to distracted drivers
Texting while driving increased 50 percent last year and two out of 10 drivers say they've sent text messages or emails while behind the wheel, according to a recent survey. (Sept. 20, 2011) Credit: AP
State troopers said Monday they issued 204 summonses over a weeklong period to motorists on Long Island for using cellphones or texting while driving.
During Operation Hang Up, the New York State Police in Troop L, based in Farmingdale, wrote 172 tickets for cellphone violations and 32 for texting while driving from April 23 to Sunday, the agency said in a statement.
Under New York law, merely viewing a phone or other handheld electronic device while driving is illegal, State Police said. Violators can be fined as much as $150, penalized additional mandatory court surcharges and be assessed 3 violation points on their license.
"Electronic devices have become commonplace in our lives, but they have no place in the hands of a driver," Maj. Patrick Regan, Troop L commander, said in a statement.
Recent studies show drivers talking on phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash, and that the behavior of such drivers is equivalent to that of drivers at the threshold of the legal limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol content, State Police said. With Gary Dymski
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
