By Seanna Adcox
Associated Press
Nov. 16, 2002

ALBANY, N.Y. - One year after New York banned drivers from using hand-held cellphones, people continue to steer with a phone held to one ear, though the extent of lawlessness is debatable.

Police officers ticketed 45,781 gabbing drivers from Dec. 1 to Aug. 31, according to the latest figures from the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The law took effect Nov. 1, 2001, but offenders had a monthlong grace period where they received only warnings.

But after a year, not everyone is convinced the law is working.

"I don't see people using it, so I don't think it's done anything. I see people all the time on cellphones," said Shawn Citone, 34, of Albany, as she bought her first cellphone.

She supports the ban and was planning to buy a hands-free device.

"There's no question you're still seeing . . . people talking and driving," said Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, a Brooklyn Democrat. "But the message is out there, and it's clear."

Ortiz, who made the issue a personal mission, said he has noticed a big drop in hand-held cellphones he sees on the Thruway. In January, he will introduce a tougher measure banning dialing while driving.

But catching someone disobeying the current law is difficult, said State Police Maj. Jack Van Steenburg.

"We need to see someone that has the phone to their ear, or we can't pull that person over," he said.

At any given time, 3 percent of drivers nationwide, about 500,000 people, are talking on cellphones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

New York's law cut the use of hand-held cellphones nearly in half, from 2.3 percent of drivers using them to 1.1 percent, according to a study by the Arlington, Va.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

A survey by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research at the University of Albany, conducted in April and June at 200 locations statewide, found 2 percent of drivers still held phones to their ears.

But both sides agree: Neither report measures the success of the law.

"The law was touted as a safety measure," said Kimberly Kuo, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. "Without accident data, it's hard to judge."

Seventeen states record cellphone use as a contributing factor in crashes, up from just two in 1998, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

New York joined their ranks Jan. 1, but crash data won't be released until a December 2005 report to state lawmakers, DMV spokesman Joe Picchi said.

Existing reports from six states indicate that cellphones and citizens band radios were a factor in less than 1 percent of crashes. But Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader believes crash reports are unreliable.

"You can't depend on drivers telling you, 'Yes, I had a crash because I was on a cellphone,' " he said. "Is it any more distracting than other things, that's the question."

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