NY Lawmakers Consider Adding a 'Textalyzer' to Accident Investigations

CHAPPAQUA, NY — A bill before the New York State Senate would give law officers a tool to check drivers' cell phones after an accident in order to determine if distracted driving was the cause. Titled Evan's Law, named after Evan Lieberman, a New Castle teenager who lost his life in 2011 due to a distracted driver in Westchester County, the bill would be the first in the nation to receive legislative approval.

On Monday, working alongside Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz, Senator Terrence Murphy (R-40th) brought a prototype "textalyzer" to Albany to demonstrate what the police would be able to do at an accident scene if the bill passes and to host a distracted driving lobby day to galvanize support for the legislation

"We need to keep our hands off the phone and on the wheel," Murphy told the crowd. "Statistics are showing we are having more distracted driving accidents than drunk driving because they did a really good job of making a platform for all of us to be aware. Well this is the next step."

Like a breathalyzer, the textalyzer would enable police to examine phones at an accident site in a way that, proponents say completely avoids drivers’ personal data.

Evan's Law and the technology has been featured on ABC News, The Today Show, CNN, CNBC and the Washington Post.

But not everyone is excited about the prospect.

Rashida Richardson of the New York Civil Liberties Union is concerned that private information would not be private with any phone-scanning technology. She also questioned its accuracy, according to CBS New York.

"The proposed law carefully borrowed on what makes a Breathalyzer legal and constitutional," Ortiz said. "All fifty states have implemented sobriety tests based on the legal principle of implied consent where drivers agree to sobriety test or lose driving privileges. The distracted driving impairment is equal to the drinking impairment and needs to be dealt with in a similar manner."

Murphy said 391,000 people were injured in a distracted driving accident in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Town of New Castle, New Castle community volunteers, the Horace Greeley High School SADD Club along with Get Reel Productions, LLC, a local media company based in Chappaqua, have released a Public Service Announcement documenting the story of the Lieberman's tragic loss and New Castle's effort to change habits and laws regarding distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. Despite this fact, and despite knowledge of the risk to themselves and others, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that 67 percent of drivers still use their mobile phones while behind the wheel.

New York State Assemblyman Kevin Byrne knows all too well about the dangers of distracted driving. The night after he received the endorsement to run for the Assembly he was involved in a horrific head on collision caused by a distracted driver. Thankfully, the Assemblyman's injuries were not life threatening.

"Distracted driving, whether it be from lack of sleep, texting or checking social media on your mobile device, is quickly becoming one of the biggest contributors to auto accidents in the country," Assemblyman Kevin Byrne said. "We need to give law enforcement the tools they need to enforce the law, and we must do our best to ensure drivers understand 'hands off the phone, hands on the wheel, and eyes on the road!'"

"At the end of the day this is about saving lives," Murphy added. "This is a bipartisan effort in order to do the right thing for our communities and for New York State."

New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein said, "I am incredibly proud that New Castle is leading the effort to combat this dangerous epidemic on our roads. Our education and enforcement efforts are being used as a model across the state. But, we need to give our police departments the tools they need to collect data and hold drivers accountable. It is an honor to work with New York State Senator Terrence Murphy and Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz on Evan's Law. I look forward to a distracted driving policy in New York that enables police to examine phones at an accident site using the textalyzer."