Talk is cheap. But not for long, if you're talking on a cellphone while driving in New York state.
On Monday, state lawmakers gave final approval to the nation's first statewide law banning the use of hand-held cellphones while driving. Governor George Pataki has said he will sign the measure.
"Too many families have suffered the tragedy of seeing a loved one injured, sometimes fatally, in an accident caused by someone who was d riving while using a cellphone," Pataki said.
The measure takes effect Nov. 1. After a month-long warning period, violators will be subject to a US$100 fine for the first offense.
Hand-held phones would be still allowed in an emergency, but otherwise New York's 6 million wireless phone owners will need to spend up to US$200 on headsets or speaker phones if they want to talk legally while driving.
Drivers will be allowed to dial phones manually, as long as their hands remain free during the conversation.
Most cellphone companies opposed the bill, saying there's little evidence that holding a phone while driving is dangerous.
The companies say phones are no more distracting to drivers than a whole host of other activities, from eating to fiddling with the radio.
"There's really a lack of data in this area, which is one reason why bills on cellphone use have failed in so many states," said Dee Yankoskie, manager of wireless education programs for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.
Indeed strict laws banning cellphone use while driving have been considered by dozens of state legislatures, but enacted by none. Florida does require drivers using headsets to keep one ear uncovered, while Massachusetts requires drivers to keep one hand on the wheel while talking on the phone. About 300 cities and counties have taken up bans, with laws approved by a mere handful.
But the measure in New York, which takes effect Dec. 1, had a number of factors pulling for it.
For one, Suffolk County on Long Island last year implemented the nation's first county-wide ban on hand-held phones while driving.
Passage of the law followed a horrendous accident involving a local ten-year-old girl, whose parents had pulled over to the side of a highway so that she could use the bathroom. Her parents were killed when a 20-year-old Naval Academy student, driving while using a cellphone, crashed into their car.
Another factor was the support of Verizon Wireless, one of the nation's largest cellphone carrier companies.
"We support the bill because it allows hands-free phones, exempts 911 calls, and imposes relatively moderate fines," said Howard Waterman, a Verizon spokesman.
"We think the measure is a good model for the rest of the country," he added.
He pointed out that Verizon markets various headsets for consumers, priced at US$14.99 and up, and that the company has long been a strong proponent of voice-activated dialing.
The bill also garnered support from the Automobile Club of New York, a surprising twist in that AAA's national office opposes bills that regulate cellphone use in autos.
"I think it's more important in New York to have both hands on the wheel than perhaps anyplace else in the country," said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of New York.
He said studies show that distracted drivers tend to focus only on the pavement directly in front of their vehicles and not on the horizon, as they're supposed to.
More than 112 million Americans use wireless phones. An estimated 85 percent of them use phones while driving. Still, there aren't many studies that detail the link between accidents and talking while driving.
However, a study published four years ago in the New England Journal of Medicine did say using a cellphone while driving made an accident four times more likely.
"Why would anyone want to take a chance?" Sinclair asked. "The best thing is just not to talk while on the road."
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