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9,000 Tickets Given to NY Cell Phone Drivers in One Day

by Tim Stevens on March 16, 2009 at 10:22 AM

9,000 Tickets Given to NY Cell Phone Drivers in One Day

You know that using a cell phone while driving in New York state is illegal, right? Unless you're using a hands-free kit, it is. Since the law passed, most police officers have been rather lenient in issuing tickets, generally only giving them out when someone is pulled over for another offense -- like speeding or poor driving. Last Thursday, however, police in New York City decided it was time for a crackdown, issuing 9,016 tickets in a single day.

This, too, shouldn't have been a surprise, as the New York Police Department (NYPD) wasn't secretive about its plans, issuing warnings through newspapers and local television networks. Starting at 12:01am last Thursday morning, officers kept their eyes open for driving talkers. Here's an idea of how effective they were: In 2008, about 535 tickets were given out each day for the same offense, meaning more people were ticketed on one day last week than were in an average two-week span. It remains to be seen whether the NYPD will maintain this level of attention going forward, but even using a hands-free kit may be banned before long, which may make give officers something else to look out for. [From: NY Daily News]

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Tags: crime, driving, driving while talking, DrivingWhileTalking, hands-free kit, Hands-freeKit, law enforcement, LawEnforcement, new york, new york city, NewYork, NewYorkCity, polic

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