July 27, 2015 Using a Cell Phone While Driving in NY May Be a Felony if it Leads to a Death In 2015, the New York City Council saw a potential resolution to ask the New York state legislature and governor for a new criminal law punishing the use of a cell phone while driving. The new law would make it a felony to cause a death by using a cell phone while driving. The resolution would also ask New York state to make it a misdemeanor to seriously injure someone by using a cell phone while driving. The language of the resolution concerns handheld devices as well as using a cell phone while driving. The resolution has not passed as of this writing. Using a Cell Phone While Driving: Statistics In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in vehicle collisions involving distracted drivers. About 424,000 people were injured as a result of distracted driving, which is an increase from the 421,000 people who were injured in 2012. At any moment across the United States, about 660,000 drivers are using a cell phone while driving or manipulating electronic devices while driving. Electronic devices could include GPS, MP3 players, and iPods. Just reaching for a cell phone while driving or dialing while driving increases the risk of a collision by three times. Sending text messages increases the risk 23 times. Texting on the cell phone while driving takes the driver’s eyes away from the road for, on average, five seconds. That is enough time to cover the length of a football field. And headset use is not much safer than handheld phones. The National Safety Council makes clear that true multi-tasking is impossible. Talking on a cell phone while driving divides a driver’s focus. Using a Cell Phone While Driving: The Law On September 30, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order banning federal employees from texting on a cell phone while driving on government business or with government vehicles. On October 27, 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enacted a ban on cell phone while driving commercial vehicles. In 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration prohibited all commercial drivers and drivers of hazardous materials from using a hand held cell phone while driving. 14 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Now, 46 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit drivers from text messaging on a cell phone while driving. New York’s most recent changes to its law are to increase fines on younger, probationary, and junior drivers for using a cell phone while driving or texting while driving. New York State also issued restrictions on commercial drivers for using a cell phone while driving and increased the fines generally. With limited exception, New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law clearly says, “no person shall operate a motor vehicle while using any portable electronic device while such vehicle is in motion.” Using a cell phone while driving does not just mean using the phone function, it also means playing games, using the internet, sending and receiving text messages, and transmitting images and emails. Technology to Prevent Drivers from Using a Cell Phone While Driving People know how dangerous using a cell phone while driving can be. National Safety Council polls show people support tougher laws against distracted driving. Perhaps that is why the New York City Council could review a possible resolution calling for a felony-level punishment. Yet, the statistics and news stories also show many people still engage in the dangerous practice of using a cell phone while driving. Apps that rely on the phone’s GPS system prevent the driver from using the cell phone while driving. Some apps allow passengers to bypass the blocking system. Others do not. Tech solutions are not just for the most safety conscious people and companies. People caught for using a cell phone while driving in Nassau County, Long Island, may temporarily lose their phone privileges. Long Island District Attorney Kathleen Rice is hoping to install apps to disable the phone when the user is behind the wheel. She likened using a cell phone while driving to drunk driving. D.A. Rice recently sought to charge a driver with negligent homicide in a collision that caused a death as a result of using a cell phone while driving. Using a Cell Phone While Driving: Liability New York juries are read this instruction on the law in negligent driving cases: “It was the duty of each of the drivers to operate (his, her) automobile with reasonable care taking into account the actual and potential dangers existing from weather, road, traffic and other conditions. Each of them was under a duty to maintain a reasonably safe rate of speed; to have (his, her) automobile under reasonable control; to keep a proper lookout under the circumstances then existing to see and be aware of what was in (his, her) view; and to use reasonable care to avoid an accident.” N.Y. Pattern Jury Instr.–Civil 2:77 Using a cell phone while driving prevents the driver from using “reasonable care to take into account actual and potential dangers existing from weather, road, traffic, and other conditions.” A New York personal injury attorney can quote the jury instructions almost exactly. A person using a cell phone while driving is not keeping a “proper lookout under the circumstances.” Although using a cell phone while driving is not yet a felony-level offense, even if it leads to death or serious injury, it is still against the law. People are entitled to safe streets. Fisher Injury Lawyers, in New York and nationally, will enforce driving safety rules for victims who have been hurt or whose family members have been killed in vehicle crashes. by Clifford Tucker All 0 0
