Most motorists in New York understand that they should not text while driving. Police officers can issue a ticket to drivers caught using devices manually. Tickets result in $50 in fines, up to $93 in surcharges and five points added to their records.
Even those visiting from other states who may be unfamiliar with state rules are likely aware of the risks related to manually handling a mobile phone while in control of a vehicle. Unfortunately, many people take for granted that they can get away with texting while driving. Some of those drivers eventually cause crashes that result in consequences for other people.
Distracted drivers may try to justify their actions by pointing at loopholes in the current regulations. Are there any circumstances that potentially reduce a driver’s culpability for handling a phone while driving?
Using hands-free systems
Technically, what New York prohibits is the manual use of a device while simultaneously operating a vehicle. Drivers may be able to avoid a citation for texting while driving if they use hands-free software to complete a phone call or respond to incoming text messages.
That being said, a driver can still be negligent even if they have not technically violated state statutes. A police officer can take the cognitive distraction of such activities into consideration when assigning fault for the crash. Drivers affected by collisions caused by those using hands-free technology can still potentially pursue insurance claims and possibly even personal injury lawsuits on the basis of negligence rather than misconduct.
Contacting emergency services
The rules about manually using a phone explicitly offer exceptions to those reaching out to emergency services while driving. As with the use of hands-free technology, a driver may be able to avoid a citation after causing a crash by establishing that they only use their phone to report something significant to local authorities.
However, they may still have a degree of personal responsibility for choosing to continue driving instead of pulling off the road while making that phone call. Even in scenarios where drivers may not have technically violated the law, their actions may not have been safe or appropriate.
If those hurt in collisions caused by distracted drivers can show that the use of a phone contributed to a crash, they may have grounds to pursue compensation even when police officers declined to issue citations. Motorists should always focus on safety in addition to complying with state statutes.
Those who cause car crashes are often liable for the damages they cause others, and need to provide compensation either through insurance or directly (in cases where injured parties bring lawsuits against them). Pursuing compensation after a car wreck is often a reasonable decision, even in scenarios where a negligent driver may not have technically violated traffic laws.