New York to Study “Textalyzer” for Distracted Driving

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed the state’s Traffic Safety Committee to evaluate the effectiveness and legal and social concerns about “textalyzer” devices that enable police officers to quickly check whether drivers were using their cellphones at the time of a crash.

The committee plans to talk with law enforcement officials, legal experts, consumer groups and other interested parties before issuing a report.

State lawmakers previously have drafted bills that would allow police to field-test a driver’s personal phone with an “electronic scanning device,” such as the one being developed by Israeli-based Cellebrite Ltd. Under the proposals, drivers who refuse to cooperate with police could have their licenses suspended.

Opponents, who claim the technology’s use would violate privacy, fear police could use the technology to access a driver’s personal information. They also point out that police can obtain a search warrant to access a phone if needed.

Noting laws that prohibit texting while driving haven’t stopped the practice, Cuomo stresses the need to crack down on such “reckless” behavior. New York is one of 14 states along with the Washington, D.C., that has banned drivers from using hand-held devices. Texting while driving is prohibited in all but three states.

In a study by the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, about half of drivers surveyed from 2013 to 2016 admitted to sending or receiving text messages while driving. A dozen roadway fatalities and nearly 2,800 injuries that occurred in New York in 2011-2015 were linked to cell phone use, During that period the state issued 1.2 million tickets for cellphone violations, according to the study.