Police Target Texting & Driving This Thanksgiving

Another crackdown on texting and driving is coming. This time from New York State Police during the Thanksgiving holiday this week.

That's according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced the crackdown this past Thursday in a statement from his office on the governor's website.

Dubbed "Operation Hang-Up," the enhanced enforcement campaign conducted by New York State Police will target motorists that use their cell phone and other electronic devices while driving.

"Over the Thanksgiving holiday we'll be stepping up our enforcement measures to send a clear message to drivers: keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel," Governor Cuomo said in the statement.

"Using a hand-held device while driving is illegal, and puts the lives and safety of New Yorkers on the road at risk. I thank the State Police and local law enforcement officers for their hard work to keep New Yorkers safe," he added.

Operation Hang-Up is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through a Distracted Driving Enforcement Grant.

The grant enables the State Police to focus patrol resources on the issue of distracted driving, and supplements their conventional traffic safety and enforcement efforts. Traffic volume is generally the heaviest during the Thanksgiving holiday, and the operation will be conducted state-wide.

Under this grant similar enhanced enforcement periods will be conducted throughout the year.

"Drivers must eliminate distractions and behaviors that take their attention from the road and unnecessarily puts lives at risk. During this enhanced enforcement period, troopers will ticket those drivers who ignore this law and use a mobile device while driving," Joseph A. D'Amico, Superintendent of the New York State Police said.

Governor Cuomo signed a new law to strengthen enforcement of texting-while-driving violations in July of this year.

The law makes using a hand-held electronic device for activities such as texting while driving a primary traffic offense, giving law enforcement the power to stop motorists solely for engaging in this activity.

Additionally, the penalty for using a hand-held device while driving has increased from two to three points.

The Suffolk County Police Department conducted a similar crackdown at the start of August on texting while driving following the law's passage. That yielded more than 1,000 issued summonses.