Westchester and Suffolk Counties levy phoning while driving fines, as do several NJ towns. Nassau County and more NJ towns are considering regulations.NYC banned use of hand-held phones by taxi drivers in 1999, and a city-wide ban has been introduced in City Council.

Concern about driver phone use was prompted in part by a 1997 New England Journal of Medicine study that found phoning and driving quadrupled the risk of a crash and was almost as dangerous as drunk driving. Observers note that hands-free phones and other activities that divert driver attention could be equally conducive to accidents and are ignored in most legislation.