The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles have announced that they will impose two points on the driving records of those found guilty of driving while using a cell phone for offenses committed on or after February 16, 2011.
Previously, no points were assigned for talking on a cell phone although two points are assigned for texting while driving violations.
The new regulation will align the point penalty for both violations.
Each year over 300,000 tickets are issued statewide for cell phone violations.
In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died nationwide in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than 440,000 were injured.
