No Texting While Driving: New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1225-d

• Category: practice
• No Comments
• July 15th

ALBANY, NY – Governor Andrew Cuomo conducted a ceremonial bill signing which made texting while driving a primary offense in New York State which means that a driver can be stopped solely for the offense.

While it has been against the law to text or use an electronic device while driving in New York for two years, until this point it was only a “secondary” offense, meaning police could only pull you over and ticket you only if you were committing some other offense like speeding.

Now, not only will penalties be make more severe, but police can pull someone over solely upon their seeing a motorist using a hand held electronic device.

“If a trooper visually observes somebody engaging in some type of behavior with a Blackberry, or an I-phone, they will make that stop,” said New York State Police Lt. Kevin Barnas. “Any kind of distracted driving is a danger.”

New York was one of only four states that had a texting-while-driving ban that didn’t make it a primary offense. Twenty-seven other states had it as a primary infraction.

Records obtained by Gannett from the state Department of Motor Vehicles showed that nearly 332,000 tickets were issued statewide for cellphone use while driving in 2010, compared to just 3,200 for texting while driving – the first full year the law was in place.

Following the bill signing, Gov. Cuomo was careful to note to reporters that the law applies not only to texting, but to using a hand held device–while driving– for any other purpose, such as surfing the web or checking e-mail.

And …even if you just have one in your hand while driving, the law is written in such a way, that you are presumed to be “using” it, and therefore subject to being stopped.

“It’s a rebuttable presumption,” said Cuomo, meaning that if there’s to be an argument over whether a device was actually being used, it would be fleshed out in court before a judge.

Do you have a texting and driving ticket? Call us now to find out how to fight it so you don’t get stuck with the points!

New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §1225-d. Use of portable electronic devices.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall operate a motor vehicle while using any portable electronic device while such vehicle is in motion.

2. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Portable electronic device” shall mean any hand-held mobile telephone, as defined by subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c of this article, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with mobile data access, laptop computer, pager, broadband personal communication device, two-way messaging device, electronic game, or portable computing device.

(b) “Using” shall mean holding a portable electronic device while viewing, taking or transmitting images, playing games, or composing, sending, reading, viewing, accessing, browsing, transmitting, saving or retrieving e-mail, text messages, or other electronic data.

3. Subdivision one of this section shall not apply to (a) the use of a portable electronic device for the sole purpose of communicating with any of the following regarding an emergency situation: an emergency response operator; a hospital; a physician’s office or health clinic; an ambulance company or corps; a fire department, district or company; or a police department, (b) any of the following persons while in the performance of their official duties: a police officer or peace officer; a member of a fire department, district or company; or the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle as defined in section one hundred one of this chapter.

4. A person who holds a portable electronic device in a conspicuous manner while operating a motor vehicle is presumed to be using such device. The presumption established by this subdivision is rebuttable by evidence tending to show that the operator was not using the device within the meaning of this section.

5. The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing the seizure or forfeiture of a portable electronic device, unless otherwise provided by law.

6. A violation of this section shall be a traffic infraction and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred fifty dollars.

$5,000 Speeding Ticket – Who Said Tickets Don’t Affect Auto Insurance?

• Category: Criminal & Traffic
• No Comments
• July 15th

Published in MSN Money

I hadn’t been stopped for speeding in more than 20 years.

Call me dull, but I honestly do like to poke along. Driving through the high plains of New Mexico this winter, though, I apparently missed a 40 mph sign where a lonesome highway ducked between buildings before re-emerging into open sky.

Moments later, two officers stood by my pickup, eyeing my out-of-state plates with a bit more satisfaction than seemed appropriate.

“You can pay the $60 now, or” — and here, the older officer actually smiled — “show up at the court date next month.”

I was tempted to pay. It was only $60.

But it’s a good thing I didn’t. If I was thinking the ticket was only $60, then I was thinking wrong. The hit always comes later, when your car insurance company finds out. Most people know that.

But do you know how much a ticket can ultimately cost while it taints your record anywhere from three to six years?

Multiply that ticket by 30

I talked my way out of that New Mexico ticket. The speed trap seemed unfair and I was in a talkative mood.

I wasn’t aware that a single ticket could have cost me my safe-driver discount and jacked up my premium by 15 percent, or $372 over the next six years, more than six times the speeding fine.

But that’s nothing. My auto insurance rates are already well below average, and I have an old beater that spends most of its time in the driveway. And my home state — like several other states and some insurers — ignores the first infraction.

What happened to a family member may be more typical. He already had one ticket on the family policy, but with two drivers, they doubled their risk of a second infraction. When his wife rolled through a stop sign, the other shoe dropped.

A 30 percent surcharge kicked in, and it set them back the price of a used car: $4,000 over six years — 32 times the amount of the $125 rolling-stop ticket.

“That doesn’t sound unreasonable. That sounds about right,” says Ted Hollander, a lawyer who has defended drivers in traffic court for 14 years. His firm, The Ticket Clinic, makes its business not because people want to evade the fines, but because they can’t afford the 40, 50, or even 100 percent increase in their auto insurance premiums.

“That’s why hiring a lawyer…is the deal of the century,” he says.

The insurance industry has good reason to be wary of leadfoots.

Traffic accidents cost the industry tens of billions of dollars annually, and its analysts agree that drivers with traffic violations are more likely to be in accidents. Nearly one-third of fatal accidents in the United States are due to speeding, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “If we ignore that, and all of our competitors don’t, then we’re writing policies for the people who do tend to violate traffic laws that are (priced) too low,” says Dick Luedke, a spokesman for State Farm, the nation’s largest auto insurer.

Not everyone thinks the insurance industry’s formula is fair, though.

Do motorists who get tickets have accidents because they’re unsafe drivers? Or are the same motorists — those who put in many miles — likely to both get more tickets and be in more accidents?

“Many of these violations are not predictive of the quality of driving,” says Gary Biller, executive director of the National Motorists Association, a membership-based drivers’ rights organization. “Your premium gets jacked up generally 20 percent over the next three years, at least, and it’s almost entirely profit for the insurance company because they don’t have the risk of the future claim.”

After all, you’re far more likely to be careful once you’ve been nabbed.

How to get pulled over for speeding

Let’s say I’d paid instead of pleaded on that New Mexico roadside. Had I run into a second speed trap — not unlikely given my daily mileage in unfamiliar terrain — my rates would have shot up 40 percent for the next six years, costing a total of $1,026, according to a few what-if conversations with my very patient insurance agent.

Scary, but that doesn’t mean flashing lights should spark panic.

1. Pull over as soon as you can, but don’t block a lane or stop suddenly. Make sure there is space for the police vehicle to stop safely as well.
2. Turn off your car. Keep your hands visible. At night, turn on the interior light.
3. Don’t argue with the police officer, but don’t admit guilt. Belligerence never helps. (The officer said he let me off with a warning because I was “respectful and nice.”)
4. Call your insurance company. Ask how the ticket would affect your rates, and for how long. Every company will have its own rules. “Just to blindly go in and pay a traffic ticket without knowledge of the long-term consequences is a poor decision,” Hollander says. “A person owes it to themselves to get some advice.”
5. Contact a traffic lawyer. Lawyers know the intricacies of police equipment and its operation, and stand a far greater chance of winning your case than you do. In some areas, they may also know whether it’s possible to pay without getting points on your record.

In New York, leaving the scene of a minor accident will net you three points, reckless driving will net you five points. But speeding by 31 to 40 mph over the limit will land you eight points. If you’re going 41 mph over the limit, you’ll get hit with 11 points right off the bat. That’s one strike, you’re out.

“I recommend fighting every traffic ticket, even if it’s a small ticket,” says traffic attorney Matthew Weiss of 888RedLight in New York. “The repercussions get exponentially worse.”

…

The second ticket is a killer

A traffic ticket’s effect on your auto insurance rates depends on many factors, including the state you live in and which insurance company you use. The more tickets you get and the more serious those tickets are, the more you’ll be hurting.

Ticket No. 1

The clock starts running. Most insurers won’t raise your rates on a first, garden-variety speeding ticket, and some states won’t add points to your license for what they classify as a small offense…

Ticket No. 2

The other shoe drops. The first time points are assessed, whether it’s from a big speeding ticket or just two minor tickets, drivers are likely to see at least a 5 percent to 20 percent increase in their premiums. If it’s two tickets for even a minor at-fault accident, beware: Your insurance company might want to drop you.

Ticket No. 3

Now you’re a problem driver. It doesn’t take long before the state demands certified proof that you’re insured, known as an SR-22. Expect an insurer to double your rates or worse, perhaps even drop you altogether.

Ticket No. 4 and beyond

Your life is about to change. How many points are you allowed to have on your record in your state before you lose your license? Check your state’s department of motor vehicles website, because there’s a good chance that if you get three tickets within a single “consideration period,” you’ll be at your limit. The result: bye-bye, license. And, if your boss needs you to drive, or to have access to the company car, there goes the job, too. Driving records are public.

Move Over Law Leads to Catskills Tickets

• Category: Criminal & Traffic
• No Comments
• June 30th

Move Over Law

A recent New York Vehicle and Traffic Law put into effect on January 1, 2011 with the goal of protecting police, firefighters and emergency personnel, requires motorists to move over or slow down when approaching and passing a parked emergency or police vehicle with its lights flashing.

The Ambrose-Searles Act (also known as the “Move Over” law (VTL) 1144-a ) says drivers must move over to the lane that is farthest from where the police or other emergency vehicle is stopped.  If one is on a single lane road, he must slow down and pass the emergency vehicles at a safe distance.

A driver that fails to slow down and change lanes under these circumstances can be issued a traffic ticket or moving violation summons which carries two (2) points and maximum fine of $150.

It has come to our attention that many drivers on their way to or from the Catskills have been issued New York traffic tickets for not obeying the New York Move Over Law . Drivers have witnessed a police car on the side of the road with its flashing lights on (and sometimes without), waiting for motorists to fail to move over. Drivers are then stopped and issued a “move over” ticket.

If you have been caught and ticketed for this ticket, we can help – contact us now.

NY Cell Phone Ticket Campaign on New York Thruway

• Category: Criminal & Traffic
• No Comments
• April 13th

New York State Police's fifth annual cell phone ticket campaign

New York State Police’s Fifth Annual “Operation Hang Up is in full swing.  Running for four days, Monday April 12, 2011 through Thursday, April 14, 2011, the New York State Police will be targeting motorists who violate New York’s new 2-point cell phone law.

In February, New York Department of Motor Vehicles began imposing two points for drivers convicted of violating NY’s cell phone law.

Last year, Troop T, the state police division responsible for the NY Thruway, gave out 879 NY Cell Phone tickets during four days of its Spring “Operation Hang Up”.   In all of last year, officers from Troop T handed out 8,172 tickets to drivers talking on their cell phone while driving.

NY cell phone ticket blitz by NY State Police Troop T

The penalty for a conviction of New York’s cell phone law is a maximum fine of $100 and a mandatory surcharge.  Also, the DMV will impose two points on the convicted driver’s record.

The effects of being issued a cell phone ticket may also reach auto insurance because increased points can raise your insurance premium.

If you receive a NY cell phone ticket, call us immediately.  The Rosenblum Law Firm is staffed by experienced attorneys prepared to help you.  Email or call 888-815-3649 today.

Beat A NY Traffic Ticket with PIRP…Well, Sort Of

• Category: Criminal & Traffic
• No Comments
• March 29th

There is an innovative way to beat your New York traffic ticket that does not involve appearing in court. The New York DMV calls it the Point and Insurance Reduction Program (PIRP).

Even when a driver accumulates points, PIRP enables the driver to lighten the blow that multiple NY traffic tickets can have on their driving record. The New York DMV declares that PIRP is designed to benefit New York drivers by:

• Reviewing safe driving pointers and expanding knowledge of driving laws
• Reducing as many as four points from their driving record
• Lowering insurance rates by up to 10 percent.

Soften the Blow with PIRP

While the courses are provided by private companies or corporations, these “sponsoring agencies”, as they are called, must be approved by NY DMV.  A few agencies have been approved for internet classes; but most are set in the classroom.

Upon furnishing a course completion certificate, the NY DMV reduces the points on the driver’s record.

It must be emphasized that PIRP does not remove points from your driving record because it is not possible to delete points from a NY driving record.  People mistakenly plead guilty to NY traffic ticket thinking they will enroll in a driver’s safety course and remove the points.  The appropriate way is to negotiate a plea agreement before enrolling.

The DMV website explains that PIRP “does not remove, delete, subtract, or erase any violation, conviction, or notice of original number of points from your driving record. “Point reduction” means the DMV will not count up to four points on your driving record toward license revocation or suspension.”

If you are faced with a New York traffic ticket and/or a NY cell phone ticket, it is recommended to hire an experienced and aggressive traffic attorney.  This is the best way to stop points from adding up on your New York driver’s abstract.

The Rosenblum Law Firm has a team of excellent attorneys who have been successfully beating NY traffic tickets for years.  Email or call 888-815-3649 to speak directly to a lawyer.

$66 Milllion Awarded in Western NY Personal Injury Suit

• Category: Personal Injury
• No Comments
• March 13th

Awarded $66 million in personal injury lawsuit

After an eight-week trial, a jury has awarded Natalie Barnhard, a 30-year old former physical therapy assistant, $66 million when she was paralyzed by a falling exercise machine manufactured by Cybex International.

Falling exercise equipment results in large personal injury award.

Cybex, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer, vowed to “pursue all avenues” to reverse the verdict.

In a statement, Cybex insisted that the verdict was not supported by the facts in the case or the law.

Unemployment Drops to Lowest Level Since April 2009

• Category: Unemployment
• No Comments
• March 13th

Unemployment in January fell to 9 percent, the lowest level since April 2009, the Labor Department announced. The drop from November’s 9.8 percent rate represented the biggest two-month decline since 1958.  This is a clear sign of an economic reprieve.

In addition, the severe winter weather that has pasted much of the U.S. likely reduced the number of jobs created. Harsh snowstorms last month cut into construction employment, which fell by 32,000, the most since May.

Drop in Unemployment Shows Promise