When operated a motor vehicle while using a cell phone first became a violation of law it actually did not carry any points in Southampton. Over the last 20 years New York has added points to the violation and then increased the point value twice. Today Southampton cell phone tickets carry 5 points and are categorized as a major traffic infraction by the NYS DMV.
In Southampton, tickets for using a cell phone without a hands-free device are issued under VTL 1225.C2a. Under the law, one of the elements of a cell phone violation is that the phone must be held to the ear or in immediate proximity of the ear. Situations that involve a cell phone or portable electronic device being held elsewhere, not in proximity of the ear, without a hands-free device, are chargeable under VTL Section 1225.D, as a portable electronic device violation.
