Several counties are not waiting for the state Legislature to outlaw text messaging while driving.
They have enacted their own bans, and Sheriff Richard Devlin said he would like to see Otsego County join them.
The county's Traffic Safety Board is developing a proposal for a text-messaging ban and expects to submit it to the county Board of Representatives sometime this summer, Devlin said Wednesday.
"This is in the very early stages," he said.
Schenectady County's text-messaging law went into effect March 1. Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties have passed similar laws, according to a media release from the Schenectady County Legislature.
As in Schenectady County, Broome County is considering a $150 fine for text messaging while driving. The proposal is expected to be voted on this month, according to officials.
Devlin said several counties in the state have brought forth local laws after the state Legislature failed in recent years to pass a text-messaging ban.
In 2001, New York state banned talking on cell phones while driving without the use of a hands-free device. Violators face a fine of up to $100.
Devlin said the cell-phone law does not cover texting, which in 2001 was not as popular as it is today.
Many people are more inclined today to text message than they are to make an actual phone call, Devlin said.
Ten states have banned text messaging while driving: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Utah and Virginia. Washington, D.C., also has a ban. Several other states have restricted text messaging by novice or beginner drivers, according to the Governors' Highway Safety Association.
The calls for a ban in New York became louder two years ago after a crash in western New York killed five teenagers. Police ruled text messages were either sent or received by the driver just before the sport utility vehicle carrying the five girls struck a tractor-trailer head-on at 60 mph.
Devlin said he did not immediately know of traffic fatalities or serious crashes in Otsego County that were directly related to text messaging. But the sheriff said driver distraction is a leading cause of accidents.
Action not imminent in Delaware
Delaware County Sheriff Thomas Mills, who also sits on his county's traffic-safety board, said there is no similar legislation pending in Delaware County.
"I wouldn't be opposed to it," Mills said.
Mills said that for now, county officials are keeping tabs on what other counties are doing, as well as what it is happening in Albany.
He said texting while driving can be dangerous, especially at highway speeds of 50 to 60 mph.
"It does distract you," Mills said. "Crashes occur in a snap of the fingers."
The state Senate has previously passed a ban on texting while driving. The Assembly has not.
But that could change during this session of the Legislature, which ends next month, said Assemblyman William Magee, D-Nelson. His district includes much of Otsego County.
Magee said there are several text-messaging bills in committee. He said he supports legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, one of the original sponsors of the cell-phone ban.
"This is worse than talking on a cell phone while driving," Magee said. "This is a no-brainer."
However, Devlin admitted, motorists frequently flaunt the state's ban on cell phones while driving and suspects a texting ban won't immediately change behavior.
"Enforcement would be an issue, unfortunately," he said.
Although it took many years after the adoption of the state's seat-belt law for the majority of drivers to buckle up, it eventually happened, Devlin said.
Devlin said that ultimately, the bigger issue is distracted driving, whether through cell phones, texting or some other action, such as changing a radio station or picking up a dropped item.
Passage of a local text-messaging law could raise awareness of distracted driving, he said.
If the county board does not have enough votes to pass the law, Devlin said, the Traffic Safety Board would likely seek at least a resolution from the county supporting a statewide ban on text messaging.
Magee said Madison, Onondaga and Oneida counties have passed or are considering similar local laws.
