NY State Cell Phone Law

Fighting your cell phone ticket

New York State now has the toughest laws prohibiting cell phone use while operating a motor vehicle. Effective May 31, 2013 New York State increased the penalty for using a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle. NY changed the points from 3 to 5. This means a much larger insurance increase. In addition if you have NYS junior or probationary operating privileges, you stand to lose your license upon a conviction.

These tougher penalties were undertaken by the NYS DMV because statistics showed that there has been a 143% increase in cell phone-related accidents in New York State, and that the previous point violation of 3 did not deter cell phone use while driving, as there has been a 234% increase in the number of tickets issued for texting while driving.

The Statutes
New York State has 2 cell phone statutes. One prohibits the use of cell phones when operating a vehicle (NY VTL § 1225-C) and one prohibits the use of mobile devices when operating a motor vehicle (NY VTL § 1225-D

The prohibited conduct:

Under NY VTL § 1225C(2)(a) “no person shall operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway while using a mobile telephone to engage in a call while such vehicle is in motion.” So the prohibited conduct in the State of New York is
 Operated a motor vehicle
 On a public highway
 While using a mobile telephone
 Engage in a call
 While the vehicle is in motion

How our NY State traffic lawyers defend your New York cell phone ticket

Our New York State cell phone traffic court lawyers review the facts and circumstances of your case to provide the best defense possible. For example, a strip mall parking lot is not a public highway; Further, to “use” a mobile telephone has specific meaning. So does “engaged in a call ” and “operating” a motor vehicle. Defense of a New York cell phone ticket turns on focusing on permissive conduct as well as understanding prohibited conduct.

Under NY VTL § 1225C(1)(c) use of a cell phone is defined as “holding a mobile telephone to, or in the immediate proximity of the user’s ear.” However, under the New York State cell phone law, such evidence merely creates the rebuttable presumption that the operator is engaged in a call. Our New York traffic ticket lawyers can defeat your NY cell phone ticket by presenting evidence tending to show that the operator was not engaged in a call. NY VTL § 1225C(2)(b).

Immediate proximity of the ear is defined under NY VTL § 1225C(1)(g) as “that distance as permits the operator of a mobile telephone to hear telecommunications transmitted over such mobile telephone, but shall not require physical contact with such operator’s ear.” This element is taken out of context by the police officer many times. Often our New York cell phone ticket clients are written the ticket because they were using the cell phone’s speaker without the cell phone at or near their ear. This is permissible conduct, and our NY State traffic court lawyers can have your NYS cell phone ticket dismissed on such evidence.

Further, New York VTL § 1225C(1)(f) defines “engaged in a call” as mean “talking into or listening on a hand-held mobile telephone, but shall not include holding a mobile telephone to activate, deactivate or initiate a function of such telephone.” NY VTL § 1225C(1)(d) defines a hand held mobile phone as “a mobile telephone with which a user engages in a call using at least one hand.”
The “take away” from these two sections is that a NY motorist can pick up a cell phone to answer or terminate a call, but cannot hold the phone in his or her hand to engage in the call. Often times our NY cell phone clients were written a ticket for merely turning on, turning off, answering, or terminating a call of which they were on speaker phone or blue tooth and were not holding the phone while engaged in a call. Our NY cell phone ticket defense lawyers can get your cell phone ticket dismissed upon presenting such evidence.

Why retain NY cell phone defense lawyers and why our firm

Even if you believe that you are “guilty” it is still worth retaining our New York cell phone defense lawyers. This is because our traffic lawyers focus on, highlighting, and bring to the court’s attention the permissible conduct, not just try to undermine the state’s case by credibility impeachment. This two pronged approach makes our defense very effective in getting a favorable plea bargain or the ticket dismissed at trial.

Our law firm is statewide and our traffic court defense lawyers will appear in any court of NY State. We will also get your personal appearance waived so that you do not have to go to court. We also do everything with our clients via phone, fax and e-mail so that you do not have to take time out of your schedule to come to our office (although you are always welcome to stop by). Our NY cell phone defense firm is so confident that we will get the points reduced or eliminated that we give a money back guarantee to do so. When you retain our NY cell phone defense attorneys you never have to lose time from work to go to court or even come to our office we do everything for you.

Our NY cell phone and traffic court defense lawyers put you in a nothing to lose, everything to gain position. We give free, no cost, no obligation phone consultations and charge 1 low flat fee that ends up saving you time and money. Call our traffic court defense law firm right now for a no cost, no obligation phone consultation.