On Monday, September 23, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that in the state of New York, there will be 91 designated areas on the Thruway (I-87) for texting, called “texting zones”. These zones will be existing at current rest stops, Park and Rides, parking areas and other similar safe stopping areas. The state will put up a total of 298 signs pointing motorists toward these “texting zones”. State Police will continue to enforce the new law – 5 points on your license and a $150 fine for texting while driving. During a summer crackdown from July 4 through Labor Day, officers issued 16,027 tickets for cell phone use and 5,553 for texting while driving – a total of 21,580 infractions. The following service areas will double as a “texting zone”: in Ulster County: Ulster, Modena, Plattekill and Malden and the other rest areas 11 miles south of Catskill and eight miles north of Kingston. In Orange County: Town of Wallkill, Middletown and Greenville on I-84. In Sullivan County: Roscoe. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured as the result of a driver’s negligence or distracted driving, contact us immediately for help. Check out our efforts on reducing distracted driving through our Commit to Quit campaign. We teamed up with CBS6 Albany to present our anti-texting and driving campaign to the students at Shenendehowa High School. Watch the video: Learn more about this announcement.