Cuomo signs new texting-while-driving law

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo Tuesday signed into law a bill that beefs up measures to stop texting while driving as the devastated family of a New York City man allegedly killed by a distracted driver looked on.

The law allows police and other law enforcement officers to pull over drivers they see fiddling with cellphones or other handheld electronic devices rather than paying attention to the road. It took effect immediately and makes New York the 31st state where texting while driving is a primary offense, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Penalties are a fine of as much as $150 and 3 points on an offender's driver's license.

"This bill will save lives. Period," Cuomo said, adding that texting while driving "is not just a mistake. It's not just bad judgment. It's not just foolishness. You're breaking the law."

The law, which stemmed from a measure co-sponsored by state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) and Assemb. Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach), makes use of a handheld electronic device while driving a primary traffic offense, meaning it can now be the sole reason a driver is pulled over and cited. Previously, drivers could not be stopped or ticketed for distracted driving unless they were committing another offense, such as speeding.

One in five drivers admits to texting or reading emails while at the wheel, Cuomo said, citing AAA statistics. That rate threatens to increase, he said, as a new generation of drivers who are part of the "technological revolution," including his own teenage daughters, take the road.

The law makes it illegal to use handheld electronic devices for the purposes of texting, emailing, taking photos, playing games and more while behind the wheel. The use of GPS systems is exempt from the law, as is using a cellphone to communicate with first responders during an emergency.

The widow, son and niece of Tian Sheng Lin, 53, a deliveryman killed in September when his scooter was struck by a teenager who allegedly was texting while driving in Midwood, Brooklyn, were present at the ceremony in the Jacob K. Javits Center in midtown Manhattan.

Lin's widow, Zhang Xiu Yuig, of Chinatown, dissolved into tears as Cuomo signed the bill. Nechama Rothberger, 19, has pleaded not guilty to charges including criminally negligent homicide, a felony. Her next court date is Sept. 8.