Texting while driving violations increase, making roads safer for the rest of us

If you’re one of the many frustrated drivers who all too often sees some dope driving while texting behind the wheel, then you should appreciate that New York State has had a four-fold increase in such violations.

That is, more people are getting busted for a reckless habit that could cost lives.

Thanks to a strengthening  of the law, police have more power to pull over a driver if they are texting and driving. The 2011 improvement gives law enforcement the authority to stop motorists using a handheld device as a primary traffic offence. It used to be secondary offence, meaning one had to be doing something else wrong to see those sirens flashing in the rear-view mirror.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attributed more than 3,000 deaths last year to distracted driving, calling it a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways, according to the governor’s release. And studies show that drivers who text are four times more likely to get into an accident.

In suburban counties, the increases are sizeable. In Westchester, for example, 148 tickets jumped to 720 in one year span. In Suffolk, it went from 185 to 908, and in Nassau, 162 to 505.

Here’s a look at the statewide numbers: