Thanksgiving can be more than a family holiday. For the New York State Police, it was the opportunity to remind motorists of the dangers of texting while driving. 

During the course of 5 day Thanksgiving holiday, 816 tickets were issued for a texting while driving violations. About 40% of the tickets were handed out during “Operation Hang Up”, an enhanced enforcement campaign that was conducted from November 23-27.

Gov. Andew Cuomo, who in July signed a new bill to make the texting ban a primary enforcement, said in a statement that the number of tickets justified the stricter law.

“The more than 800 tickets issued in just five days further demonstrates the need for these stricter laws which focus on drivers who put others at risk by illegally using a hand-held device.  I thank the State Police and local law enforcement agencies for cracking down on distracted driving during the holiday weekend to help protect New Yorkers and keep our highways safe.”

In the first six months of 2011, an average 429 tickets were issued each month to motorists for using a handheld electronic device while driving. Ever since the new law has been enforced in July, the number of tickets has more than double and surpassed 1,000 tickets each month.

Source: Gov. Andrew Cuomo press release, December 1, 2011

Related posts:

1. Texting fines up by 43% in New York
2. Rhode Island cites 185 drivers for texting
3. Georgia issues 36 citations in a year for texting while driving
4. Georgia police confident to make texting ban work
5. Ontario cell phone ban results in 470 fines in 30 days