BILL NUMBER: S5074
SPONSOR: GRIFFO
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the executive law, in
relation to the field testing of mobile telephones and portable elec-
tronic devices after a motor vehicle accident or collision involving
damage to real or personal property, personal injury or death
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to increase enforcement of existing prohibi-
tions on the use of mobile telephones and/or personal electronic devices
while driving through the creation of a field test that law enforcement
may conduct at the scene of the accident.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
1. Section 1 - Sets forth the legislative intent.
2. Section 2 - Sets forth the short title to be known as "Evan's Law"
3. Section 3 - Section 215 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended by
adding two new subdivisions requiring the Commissioner and Commissioner
of Justice Services to promulgate and implement any rules, regulations,
procedures or public education campaigns to create an opt-in program for
field testing mobile telephones and or portable electronic devices by
Police at the site of accidents
4. Section 4 Section four amends section 503 of the Vehicle and Traffic
Law to state that if a person has their license revoked under provisions
of Section 1225-e of the Vehicle and Traffic Law such driver must pay a
fee of $100 for the issuance of a driver's license.
5. Section 5 - Creates a new subparagraph (v) of paragraph (a) of subdi-
vision 2 of section 511 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to include the
suspension or revocation is based upon refusal to surrender a mobile
telephone or portable electronic device for field testing pursuant to
section 1225-e of this chapter.
6. Section 6 - The Vehicle and Traffic Law is amended to create defi-
nitions for terms to be used in this new section 1225-e and rules and
procedures to be followed regarding the field testing of mobile tele-
phones and portable electronic devices with an electronic scanning
device by police at the scene of an accident.
7. Section 7 - Section 837 of the Executive Law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 22 to mandate that any rules or regulations needed to be
promulgated related to the new section 1225-e will be established by the
Commissioner along with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles including the
approval of reliable and accurate electronic scanning devices.
8. Section 8 - Sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Distracted driving is deadly. Nearly 20,000 people were killed in cras-
hes involving distracted drivers from 2011 through 2016 (the most recent
year available), according to National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis-
tration (NHTSA) data. I n 2011, Evan Lieberman was one of those victims.
The 19-year-old college freshman was a backseat passenger of his
friend's vehicle when it was involved in a head-on crash. The driver, it
was later discovered, was texting while driving. Evan's parents obtained
the driver's celiphone records through a civil suit filed against him.
While New York State has a distracted driving law that bans using a
handheld electronic mobile device while driving, there is not protocol
for law enforcement to determine whether a driver caused a crash because
he or she was using their phone. This makes it difficult for law
enforcement to enforce the law unless they see the driver actively using
a mobile device or they ask the driver and get a confession. With
NHTSA's estimate of 481,000 U.S. drivers using handheld phone at any
moment during the day, law enforcement officials need a better way to
enforce distracted driving laws.
This bill would allow local police departments to field test electronic
scanning devices to determine whether the operator of a motor vehicle
was using a mobile telephone or a portable electronic device in
violation of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Participation in field-testing
of mobile telephones and portable electronic devices, using an electron-
ic scanning device shall be optional for police departments.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24-S.4023 - Transportation Committee
2021-22 - S. 4259 - Transportation Committee.
2019-20 - S. 5392/A. 3201 - Transportation Committee.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, except that sections four, five
and six of this act shall take effect two years after this act shall
have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S5074: 215 vehicle and traffic law, 503 vehicle and traffic law, 503(2) vehicle and traffic law, 511 vehicle and traffic law, 511(2) vehicle and traffic law, 837 executive law