ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo today said he's introducing legislation that would crack down on drivers using portable devices while driving, including a provision to make texting-while-driving a primary traffic infraction.
The bill comes with just one week left in the legislative session and as lawmakers consider plans to make texting while driving a primary offense. Currently, state law makes texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning police can only issue a ticket if a driver is pulled over for another offense, such as erratic driving.
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Police and traffic-safety officials have criticized the law, adopted in 2009, for lacking teeth. Gannett's Albany Bureau reported in April that tickets issued for texting while driving represented only a fraction of the number given out compared to talking on a cell phone without a handheld device, a primary offense and a law since 2001.
Cuomo's legislation would make it a primary offense if a driver were caught using any portable device, such as BlackBerrys and iPhones.
The bill would increase the penalty from two to three points on a person's license. Distracted driving curriculum would be required for people seeking a license.
The fine would remain at up to $150. "Every day, countless drivers, particularly teenagers and young adults, drive with their eyes on a screen rather than the road," Cuomo said in a statement.
"Distracted driving is nothing less than a lethal activity for the driver themselves, other drivers on the road, and pedestrians."
Records obtained by Gannett in April from the state Department of Motor Vehicles showed that nearly 332,000 tickets were issued statewide for cellphone use while driving in 2010, compared to just 3,200 for texting while driving - the first full year the law was in place.
Attempts in the Legislature to increase the penalties for texting while driving failed last year, but a bill to make it a primary offense passed the Senate last month. It is pending in the Assembly; Assembly Transportation Committee chairman David Gantt, D-Rochester, said last week that it's expected to pass before session ends June 20.
Gantt said today he would review the governor's bill and remained hopeful a deal can be reached. In his statement, Cuomo said he is working with lawmakers to get an agreement this session.
Distracted driving has become a growing hazard on the roadways, with numerous fatal crashes involving youth occurring across the state.
In June 2007, five teen-age girls from Perinton, Monroe County, died in a car crash linked to texting.
In December 2007, 20-year-old A.J. Larson of West Seneca, Erie County, died in a crash while sending a text message.
In 2009, 22-year-old Brandie Conklin of Eden, Erie County, had been text messaging when she fatally crashed into a truck.
After those accidents, many counties passed their own laws to make texting-while-driving a primary offense. But state law then superseded those laws.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 16 percent of fatal accidents in 2009 nationally were the result of distracted driving.
A National Insurance study recently estimated that 20 percent of drivers and 66 percent of drivers aged 18 to 24 send or receive text messages when they are behind the wheel.
Joseph Spector/Gannett Albany Bureau