Mar 12, 2009 7:45 pm US/Eastern
Hang Up Now: NYPD In Midst Of Cell Ticket Blitz
CBS 2 HD Spoke To Several Annoyed New Yorkers Who Were None Too Pleased After They Got $120 Fines
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The NYPD doesn't want to hear your excuses. You talk on a cell phone while driving and get caught, you will pay.
CBS
Calling all cars ... the NYPD is in the middle of a 24-hour crackdown on people who drive while on their cell phones.
CBS 2 HD talked to some drivers on Thursday who got dialed up.
Walking and talking is no big deal, but driving and dialing? Dangerous and Thursday it was on the radar of police.
"I was on my way to a job site. I was kind of lost so I called my boss over at the job site and they caught me," Mike Buonarobo said.
Buonarobo was one of the unlucky ones caught by the NYPD crackdown, and got a $120 lesson.
"They're just doing their job, like I'm trying to do mine, or I was trying to do mine," Buonarobo said.
So was another driver, who was talking to his company.
"I don't make a habit of it. It was just one of those things that happened," said Alec Shtromandel.
Those writing the tickets were making no apologies.
"Having one hand not on, you know, not on the wheel at any given time is dangerous," NYPD Officer Eric Chaffer said. "Everybody does it but in this case it's against the law."
A law one mother, who was caught, said she'd flaunt again, if she had to.
"Had I known about the crackdown and had I seen my kid's school calling, I would have picked up the phone regardless of the crackdown," the woman said.
CBS 2 HD was on the Upper East Side heading downtown. Our cell phone was off but we decided to put it to our ear to see how much attention we might get.
In a half-hour ride all the way to Greenwich Village, our car was never stopped, but we were lucky.
Andre Kievsky wasn't as lucky when he took a call from his son at school.
"I think it's more situational. Sometimes you just have to talk," Kievsky said.
And sometimes, there's a price to pay.
Using a phone without a "hands-free" device will get you a $120 fine, but the Police Department said the crackdown is about saving lives, not making money.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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