Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2000

Release #476-00

 
Contact: Sunny Mindel / Michael Anton (212) 788-2958

MAYOR GIULIANI INTRODUCES LEGISLATION BANNING CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today announced the introduction of a bill into the City Council which would prohibit the use of handheld mobile telephones while operating a motor vehicle in the City of New York. Under the bill, use of such handheld phones would be a traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $150. Drivers of motor vehicles could only use handheld mobile telephones for specified emergency purposes, or if the vehicle is stopped, standing or parked.

"Motor vehicles are potentially deadly weapons, and operating one requires continuous concentration and quick reflexes," Mayor Giuliani said. "Plus, reaction time is crucial to safety on crowded, busy City streets, and that requires that both hands be on the steering wheel. Prohibiting the use of handheld cell phones while operating a motor vehicle is a positive step in improving safety on City streets."

A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that at least one contributing factor in approximately 65% of all motor vehicle accidents occurring in the United States was "driver inattentiveness." Other studies, such as one conducted at the University of Toronto and reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that a driver's use of a cell phone can increase the risk of accident fourfold, the same risk as when a driver's blood alcohol level is .10 percent. In addition, an Oklahoma study looking at traffic accidents in the early 1990s found a 50% increase in accidents in Oklahoma involving cell phone use in less than two years. Another study published in the Automobile Club of America Foundation for Traffic Safety Magazine found that on-the-job fleet drivers who use their cell phones in excess of fifty minutes per month are 34% more likely to be in an accident than their counterparts, also on the job, who do not use cell phones.

The Mayor's bill recognizes that there are emergency circumstances in which the use of a handheld cell phone by the operator of a moving motor vehicle may be warranted, but those circumstances are rare. To address those emergency situations this bill allows for a driver to call 911, a doctor or hospital for emergency purposes.

"Numerous studies have demonstrated the need to curb the use of handheld cell phones while operating a motor vehicle," the Mayor continued. "Driver convenience must yield to public safety. By substantially limiting the use of handheld cell phones while driving, my administration is seeking to prevent accidents and save lives."

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