Queens Tribune
 
....August 21, 11:31 AM
 
Weprin Wants Tough Text Laws

By Noah C. Zuss

Text maniacs beware! A new law may curb drivers’ fast fingers while driving.

New York State and many others already have laws against talking while driving; now a City Councilman and a member of the State Assembly are pushing for tough restrictions on texting while behind the wheel.

Brooklyn and Queens are cooperating on this initiative as Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis) and Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) recently announced legislation banning text messaging while driving.

The action is in response to the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s new Accessible Dispatch Pilot Program that matches passengers who use wheelchairs with accessible vehicles through a central dispatch system.

“We should not be promoting hazardous driving,” Werprin said, “instead we should be promoting safe and educated driving.”

The legislation that Weprin will introduce would prohibit the sending, writing, or reading of text messages on any electronic communications device within the city limits.

The law would also provide penalties for skirting the measure.

Should the measure go into effect, freewheeling texters caught violating the statute would face fines up to $250 for each individual violation.

The spirit of the law is to cut down on another of the myriad distractions people engage in while driving a potentially deadly, one ton machine.

“Whether you are a tourist or a full-time resident of the Big Apple, fellow drivers, passengers, or pedestrians should have the piece of mind that drivers aren’t being distracted by texting,” Weprin said.

Several states already have a ban in texting behind the wheel; New Jersey, Washington, Alaska and Minnesota among them.

A ban was passed in the New York Senate in May is pending in the Assembly.

Making sure Albany knows he is serious, Weprin has also announced a resolution in the City Council calling on the state to pass the measure
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