Driving while chatting? You face 2 points

Call 'em talking points.

Starting Wednesday, motorists ticketed for driving while chatting on their handheld cell phones will face 2 points on their licenses, the state Department of Motor Vehicles said. That's in addition to the existing fine for the violation, as much as $100.

In November 2001, New York became the first state to ban driving and talking on a handheld cell phone.

Text messaging while driving became illegal statewide in November 2009. That violation carries a 2-point penalty and a $150 fine.

Today's law adds using a handheld cell phone to other violations that rack up points on a driver's license. Speeding from 1 to 10 mph over the limit, for example, carries a 3-point penalty, and failing to stop for a school bus, 5 points. Accumulating 11 or more points within 18 months subjects a driver's license to automatic suspension.

State authorities issued more than 300,000 tickets in 2009 - the last full year for which statistics were available - for handheld cell-phone use while driving, according to the DMV. The first 13 months the law was in effect, only 83,000 tickets were issued.

The DMV says driving while distracted plays a role in about one in five crashes. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, any cell-phone use - whether handheld or hands free - poses a dangerous distraction to drivers.