Adding some teeth and uniformity to a law against cell phone use while driving, the state of New York will tack two points onto the driving records of offenders in addition to making them pay a $100 fee. Previously, those who texted while driving were stuck with the points and fee, while drive-and-talkers got off with just a fee.

The deputy director of the state DMV tells NY1:

“We hope it to be a deterrent much in the way that when the seat belt law was first drafted decades ago. At first there was a very little compliance with it and now New York States leads the nation with 90 percent seat belt use. We hope we can have the same impact because distracted driving has now become one of the most serious problems on our highways today.”

Rack up 11 points in 18 months and your license is temporarily suspended.

If you use your phone while driving, how do you determine when it’s safe to do so?

State Adds Points For Drivers Caught Using Cell Phones [NY1 via Engadget, Jalopnik]

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