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History
- Referred to cities
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring an educational awareness campaign relative to the dangers of acting as a pedestrian while distracted by using a mobile device
Purpose
To require that the New York City Department of Transportation develop a public education campaign relative to the dangers of acting as a pedestrian while distracted by texting, or other uses a mobile device. As part of this campaign, an emphasis shall be placed upon the particular harms inherent in operating a mobile device while crossing an intersection and/or walking in or near a street.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: adds a new Section 19-193 to the New York City Administrative Code.
Section 2: sets forth the effective date.
Justification
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in traffic accidents caused by operators of motor vehicles who are distracted by texting, or otherwise using mobile phones. According to Distraction.gov, the federal government's website aimed at preventing distracted driving, 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. To combat this problem, Governor Cuomo and The Legislature have taken acting to ban texting while driving in New York, as well as establishing 'Text Stops' along the State's highways to provide a safe location for drivers to communicate using their mobile devices.
As distracted driving has led to an increase in injuries and fatalities, it so too is the case that pedestrians are often engaged in texting and other uses of their mobile devices while crossing busy intersections and other thoroughfares. In an August 2015 report by the Governors Highway Safety Association, national pedestrian fatalities increased by 15 percent from 2009 to 2013 with 4,735 deaths in 2013 alone. Additionally, the percentage of pedestrians killed while using cell phones has risen, from less than 1 percent in 2004 to more than 3.5 percent in 2010. All signs point unfortunately point to an increasing trend.
In the especially busy streets across all five boroughs of New York City, 269 traffic fatalities were recorded in 2014, in addition to thousands of injuries stemming from traffic accidents. In this perfect storm of dangerous traffic conditions and an increase in unsafe, distracted walking, it is appropriate for the City Department of Transportation to engage in a public education campaign to bring widespread attention to this important issue.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal impact
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.