Senate Bill S1296

                                BILL NUMBER:S1296

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to requiring accident reports to indicate  whether  a  mobile
phone was in use at the time of the accident

PURPOSE: To allow police, the Department of Motor Vehicles and private
researchers   the  ability  to  gather  information  more  effectively
regarding the relationship between automobile accidents and the use of
mobile telephones in New York State.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: This  bill  amends  subdivision  1  of
section  603  of the vehicle and traffic law as amended by chapter 432
of the laws of 1997. This bill provides that every automobile accident
report prepared by a police or judicial officer  distinctly  indicates
whether a mobile telephone was in use at the time of said accident.

JUSTIFICATION:  Individuals  distracted  by  the use of a mobile phone
while operating a motor vehicle have become  an  increasing  cause  of
automobile accidents on the roads of this state. Past reports from the
University  of  Toronto and the Rochester Institute of Technology have
determined that driving while using a mobile phone increases the  risk
of  having  an  accident by 400% and drivers with mobile phones run an
eleven-fold risk of being killed behind the wheel. As  use  of  mobile
phones increases, the accident statistics have increased as well.

              

In New York, the use of mobile phones while driving has become all too
common.  In  the year following July 12,2011, more than 20,000 tickets
were written for texting while driving. On April  24,  2012,  Governor
Cuomo announced that more than 65,000 drivers had been cited for using
handheld  electronic  devices  since the beginning of the year.  These
statistics show that motorists  continue  to  use  their  cell  phones
despite  the  state  cell  phone  ban. This legislation will allow the
state to determine the efficacy of the cell phone ban legislation.

The severity of this situation is obscured by the fact that there  are
no  accurate statistics for determining the correlation between mobile
phones, and automobile accidents in  New  York  State.  The  Rochester
Institute  of  Technology  report relied on data recorded in Oklahoma,
which requires the reporting of  the  presence  of  mobile  phones  in
vehicles  involved in an accident. This legislation would require that
the same information be included in official accident reports  in  New
York  State. In addition, the report must state whether it is known or
suspected that a mobile phone was a  cause  of  such  accident.  As  a
result,  the  police,  the  Department  of  Motor Vehicles and private
researchers will  have  a  more  accurate  source  of  data  regarding
accidents  in  which  mobile  phones  were involved in New York State.
Such information may be used to  support  proposed  measures  to  help
effectively prevent more automobile accidents.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Previously introduced.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE  DATE:  This  act  shall take effect 180 days after it shall
have become law, provided, however,  that  any  rules  or  regulations


necessary  for the implementation of the provisions of this act on its
effective date shall be promulgated on or before such date.