NY Cell Phone Ticket
Defending your NY cell phone ticket
It is now more important than ever to fight your NY Cell Phone Ticket. Ever since 2013 NY State has had the toughest laws prohibiting operating a motor vehicle while using a cell phone. Getting convicted of a NY Cell Phone Ticket carries with it a 5 point accrual, large insurance premium surcharges, and court fines and fees. In addition, if you are a junior or probationary driver your driving privilege will suspended for at least 60 days.
If you are looking to avoid all of the problems a NY Cell Phone Ticket conviction will cause, don’t delay call our NY Cell Phone Ticket defense lawyers now!
Conviction of a NY cell phone ticket is a very serious matter. The conviction is on par with a conviction reckless driving (a crime and 5 points), and the infraction of passing a stopped school bus (5 points).
The tougher penalties are due to NYS DMV statistics which showed that from 2005 to 2011 there has been a 143% increase in cell phone-related crashes in NY State. In 2011 there were 25,165 fatal and personal injury crashes involving distracted driving due to cell phones in NY. Between 2011 and 2012 NY State experienced a 234% increase in the number of tickets issued for texting while driving.
The Statutes
New York State has 2 statutes that prohibit the use of cell phones or mobile devices when operating a motor vehicle. One is contained in NY VTL § 1225-C, prohibition against using a cell phone to engage in a call, and NY VTL § 1225-D prohibition against using a cell phone to send or receive text messages.
The prohibited conduct
NY VTL § 1225C(2)(a) simply states that “no person shall operate a motor vehicle upon a public highway while using a mobile telephone to engage in a call while such vehicle is in motion.” So the elements that the state of New York must prove to find a person guilty of the charge are that the defendant:
- Operated a motor vehicle on a public highway
- While using a mobile telephone
- To engage in a call while the vehicle is in motion
If you received a NY Cell Phone Ticket and do not want to represent yourself in court we can represent you. When you retain our office you will not even have to go to court we’ll go for you! If you received a NY Cell Phone ticket don’t delay. Call our NY Cell Phone Ticket defense lawyers for a no cost, no obligation phone consultation now!
How to defend your NY cell phone ticket
Clearly if you were given a ticket because you were using your cell phone in the parking lot of a strip mall the ticket is invalid. Likewise if you were using your phone while stationary at a traffic light or in a traffic jam the ticket would be invalid. However what does it mean to “use” a mobile telephone? What does it mean to be “engaged in a call?” Defense of a NY cell phone ticket turns on understanding the various definitions and focusing on permissive conduct.
NY VTL § 1225C(1)(c) defines Use of a cell phone, which is defined as “holding a mobile telephone to, or in the immediate proximity of the user’s ear.” Further, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that if the operation held a mobile phone to or in the immediate proximity of his or her ear, the operator is presumed to be engaged in a call, which can be rebutted by evidence tending to show that the operator was not engaged in a call. NY VTL § 1225C(2)(b)
Immediate proximity of the ear is defined under NY VTL § 1225C(1)(g) as “that distance as permits the operator of a mobile telephone to hear telecommunications transmitted over such mobile telephone, but shall not require physical contact with such operator's ear.”
Further, New York VTL § 1225C(1)(f) defines “engaged in a call” as mean “talking into or listening on a hand-held mobile telephone, but shall not include holding a mobile telephone to activate, deactivate or initiate a function of such telephone.”
NY VTL § 1225C(1)(d) defines a hand held mobile phone as “a mobile telephone with which a user engages in a call using at least one hand.”
New York VTL § 1225C(1)(e) defines a hands free mobile phone as “a mobile telephone that has an internal feature or function, or that is equipped with an attachment or addition, whether or not permanently part of such mobile telephone, by which a user engages in a call without the use of either hand, whether or not the use of either hand is necessary to activate, deactivate or initiate a function of such telephone.”
What it all means
The best way to distill down the defenses to a NY cell phone ticket is to utilize the definitions and exceptions to the statute to define what a New York operator can and cannot do on a cell phone to make a call while operating a vehicle on a NY highway:
Permissible
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Impermissible
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A New York operator can operate a cell phone on a NY highway while the vehicle is not in motion stuck in traffic, at a traffic light, at a stop sign, or otherwise not in motion
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Holding a cell phone at or near your ear while engaged in a call when the vehicle is in motion
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Use a cell phone to engage in a call while the vehicle is in motion so long as you are not holding the cell phone in your hand
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Holding the cell phone while you are talking into or listening to it while the vehicle is in motion
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Hold a cell phone while the vehicle is in motion for the limited purpose of activating or deactivating a call
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Holding the cell phone to dial a number or make a phone call while the vehicle is in motion
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If you are confused by how to defend a NY Cell Phone Ticket and the laws surrounding the prohibited and permissive conduct, don’t go it alone! Call our NY Cell Phone Ticket defense lawyers for a no cost, no obligation phone consultation now!
Even if you believe that you are “guilty” it is still worth retaining our NY cell phone ticket defense lawyers to defend your NY cell phone ticket. Our NY cell phone defense firm is so confident that we will get the points reduced or eliminated that we give a money back guarantee to do so. Our NY cell phone defense attorneys can appear anywhere in the state of NY to fight your NY cell phone ticket and charges. In addition our NY cell phone ticket defense lawyers go to the NY courts for you, so when you retain our NY cell phone ticket defense attorneys you never have to lose time from work to go to court or even come to our office we do everything for you.
Our NY cell phone ticket defense lawyers put you in a nothing to lose, everything to gain position. Call our law firm right now for a no cost, no obligation phone consultation!
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