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More than 1,200 talking and texting tickets issued in St. Lawrence County last year, down from 2014

Posted 4/11/16

Although there was an 840 percent increase in tickets for texting while driving in New York state between 2011 and 2015, the number of those tickets issued in St. Lawrence County went down between …

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More than 1,200 talking and texting tickets issued in St. Lawrence County last year, down from 2014

Posted

Although there was an 840 percent increase in tickets for texting while driving in New York state between 2011 and 2015, the number of those tickets issued in St. Lawrence County went down between 2014 and 2015, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Office.

St. Lawrence County numbers released by Cuomo show there were 840 texting-and-driving tickets and 517 for talking on a phone while driving in 2014, for a total of 1,357.

In 2015, there were 738 tickets for texting and 476 for talking on a phone, for a total of 1,214 in St. Lawrence County, Cuomo said.

The five-year texting ticket trend statewide is accompanied a drop in the total number of distracted driving tickets over the same time period, according to Cuomo’s Office.

“While the number of cell phone tickets have decreased each year since 2011, texting tickets issued during the same period have increased substantially,” Cuomo said, speculating that the trend is related to “the proliferation of smartphones.”

However, the total number cell phone-related tickets for both talking and texting combined dropped between 2011 and 2015.

Each year bulleted below is followed by the number of cell phone tickets, number of texting tickets and number combined statewide:

• 2011: 248,540; 9,015; 257,555

• 2012: 217,192; 30,307; 247,499

• 2013: 208,472; 55,692; 264,164

• 2014: 165,087; 76,212; 241,299

• 2015: 132,028; 84,720; 216,748

Cuomo says his office is releasing this information in conjunction with what they are calling “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” and “Operation Hang Up.”

Cuomo describes Operation Hang Up as “a high-visibility distracted driving crackdown coordinated by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and carried out by the New York State Police and local law enforcement, which runs from April 8 to April 13.”

In 2011, Cuomo directed the state Department of Motor Vehicles to increase the number of points for a texting-while-driving infraction from two to three, and from three points to five in 2015.

Under recent laws, probationary and junior drivers could face a 120-day suspension for a first offense, and can lose their license for one year if a second offense is committed within six months. Motorists caught texting and driving face up to a $450 fine and five points on their license, according to Cuomo’s office.

“Preliminary numbers for 2015 already show that the number of tickets issued by State Police and local law enforcement for texting are up over 2014, and have dramatically increased each year since 2011,” Cuomo said.