NEW YORK STATE MOBILE PHONE & PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE TICKETS: VTL 1225c & 1225d
- Portable electronic device and mobile phone use tickets are 5 DMV points!
- If you pay this ticket, 5 DMV POINTS will be reported on your driving record and will remain there until January of the 4th year after convicted. If you are convicted in 2019, your insurance costs can increase until the conviction is deleted in 2023.
- The FINE and surcharge can be nearly $300 for a first offense.
- If you have a junior license or permit or a probationary license, a conviction of this charge will result in the SUSPENSION of your driving privileges for 120 days for a first offense.
Vehicle & Traffic Law 1225-c : Mobile Phone Use
1225-c(2)(a) provides, “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.”
“Using” is defined as “holding a mobile telephone to, or in the immediate proximity of, the user’s ear”. The law presumes you are “engaged in a call” if the phone is close to your ear.
It’s a defense if you were making an emergency call to police, fire department, hospital, or police department or if the wheels of the vehicle were not in motion.
The points you are charged with for use of a mobile phone without a hands free device depends entirely on what date the ticket was issued. In just three years, the moving violation for mobile phone use conviction changed from 0 DMV points to 5 DMV points!
| Tickets issued after June 1, 2013 | 5 DMV Points |
| Tickets issued after October 4, 2011 | 3 DMV Points |
| Tickets issued after February 16, 2011 | 2 DMV Points |
| Tickets issued before February 16, 2011 | 0 DMV Points |
Vehicle & Traffic Law 1225-d :Portable Electronic Device Use and Texting
1225-d(1) provides “no person shall operate a motor vehicle while using a portable electronic device while such vehicle is in motion”.
A “portable electronic device” is a handheld mobile phone, laptop, personal digital assistant, two-way messaging device, electronic game, pager, portable computing device, broadband personal communication device.
“Using” is texting, sending, viewing or transmitting email, playing games, browsing the net, or any application on your phone including navigation, Internet, camera, etc. The law presumes you are using a portable electronic device if you hold the device in an obvious way.
It is a defense if the vehicle was not in motion or if you were communicating with police, fire department, hospital or physician regarding an emergency situation.
If you are charged with mobile phone or portable electronic device use in Nassau County, New York, call Jeanne M. Beckmann, Esq. for a free consultation at 516-485-4888 or visit my website at www.NassauTrafficLawyer.com
