N.Y. Assembly Passes Cell-Phone Ban

By
Michael Gormley
January 7, 2006, 10:19 AM ET
2 min read

A L B A N Y, N.Y., June 25, 2001 -- The state Assembly gave final approvaltoday to a measure that would make New York the first state to banof the use of hand-held cell phones while driving.

Gov. George Pataki will sign the bill into law this week, saidspokesman Michael McKeon.

"The benefit is quite large in the number of deaths that wewill avoid," said Assemblyman Steve Levy.

The measure, adopted in the lower house tonight, wasapproved by the state Senate last week.

Opponents said the law would be unenforceable and there was noproven need for it.

"We're putting the cart before horse," argued AssemblymanThomas Kirwan, who complained the measure called for studyingaccidents involving cell phones after making their hand-held useillegal.

Ban Draws National Attention

The proposed cell-phone ban that has attracted nationalattention carries fines of up to $100. The ban would begin Nov. 1, but drivers caught using hand-heldcell phones would only be issued verbal warnings during the firstmonth. Violators are eligible for a further break from Dec. 1 untilthe end of February. Their tickets can be dismissed if they presentthe judge with a receipt showing they have purchased a hands-freecell-phone system.

The legislation does not address the issue of dialing whiledriving.

Several counties in New York and at least 23 countries,including Great Britain, Italy, Israel and Japan, have bans ondrivers using hand-held cell phones.

Really a Distraction?

There are about 115 million cell phones in use in the UnitedStates and more than 6 million in New York state, according toindustry figures.

A 1997 study in the New England Journal of Medicine said thehand-held phones posed about as much of a problem for drivers asdrunken driving. The study found the chance of an accident was fourtimes greater when using a hand-held cell phone.

Pataki and New York's legislative leaders joined the move to banuse of hand-held cell phones after an April poll from theQuinnipiac University Polling Institute found that 85 percent ofNew York voters favored the prohibition.