New York State to Designate Areas as 'Texting Zones' for Drivers
The State of New York plans to create what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office is calling “Texting Zones,” areas where motorists can pull off the road and use their mobile devices.
The State of New York plans to create what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office is calling “Texting Zones,” areas where motorists can pull off the road and use their mobile devices.
Existing Park-n-Ride facilities, rest stops, and other parking areas along the state’s Thruway and highways will function as Texting Zones and the state intends to place signage along the highway to inform drivers where these zones are located. The state is planning to place a total of 298 signs, according to the governor’s office.
The state also announced a major increase in the number of tickets for distracted driving that New York State Police have issued, at 365 percent when comparing summer 2013 to summer 2012. Last year state police issued a total of 5,208 tickets and this year (2013) the state issued 21,580 tickets.
The list of designated Texting Zones in New York is shown in the chart below:
County | Highway | Locality/Specific Location |
Albany | I-87 | New Baltimore Service Area |
Albany | I-87 | Rest Area - 3 miles south of Albany |
Clinton | I-87 | Beekmantown |
Clinton | I-87 | Point Au Roche |
Clinton | I-87 | Valcour |
Essex | I-87 | High Peaks NB |
Essex | I-87 | High Peaks SB |
Essex | I 87 | Elizabethtown |
Essex | I 87 | Lewis |
Rockland | I-87 | Ramapo Service Area |
Rockland | I-87 | Sloatsburg Service Area |
Saratoga | I-87 | Clifton Park |
Ulster | I-87 | Ulster Service Area |
Ulster | I-87 | Modena Service Area |
Ulster | I-87 | Plattekill Service Area |
Ulster | I-87 | Malden Service Area |
Ulster | I-87 | Rest Area - 11 miles south of Catskill |
Ulster | I-87 | Rest Area - 8 miles north of Kingston |
Warren | I 87 | Lake George |
Warren | I-87 | South Glens Falls |
Warren | I-87 | North Glens Falls |
Westchester | I-87 | Ardsley Service Area |
Cortland | I-81 | Preble |
Livingston | I-390 | Mt. Morris |
Livingston | I-390 | Geneseo |
Cattaraugus | I-86 | Allegany River |
Chautauqua | I-86 | Chautauqua L./Ellery |
Cattaraugus | I 86 | Randolph |
Cattaraugus | I 86 | Randolph |
Allegany | I-86 | Friendship |
Steuben | I-86 | Kanona |
Steuben | I-86 | Campbell |
Steuben | I 390 | Cohocton |
Steuben | US Hwy 15/I86 | Erwin |
Steuben | I 86 | Erwin |
Steuben | I 86 | Hornellsville |
Jefferson | I-81 | 1000 Islands/Orleans |
Jefferson | I-81 | Watertown |
Jefferson | I 81 | Ellisburg |
Jefferson | I 81 | Ellisburg |
Jefferson | I 81 | Orleans |
Jefferson | I 81 | Pamelia |
Jefferson | I 81 | Pamelia |
Jefferson | I 81 | Pamelia |
Jefferson | I 81 | Watertown |
Orange | I-84 | Wallkill |
Orange | I-84 | Middletown |
Dutchess | I-84 | Stormville |
Dutchess | I-84 | Fishkill |
Putnam | I-684 | Brewster |
Weschester | I-684 | Bedford |
Orange | I 84 | Greenville |
Orange | I 84 | Greenville |
Chenango | I-81 | Whitney Point |
Tioga | NY 17 | Nichols |
Tioga | NY 17 | Owego |
Delaware | NY 17 | East Branch |
Sullivan | NY 17 | Roscoe |
Broome | I-81 | Penn State Line |
Otsego | I-88 | Unadilla |
Otsego | I-88 | East Worcester |
Suffolk | I 495 | Huntington |
Suffolk | I 495 | Huntington |
Cayuga | I-90 | Port Byron Service Area |
Erie | I-90 | Clarence Service Area |
Erie | I-90 | Angola Service Area EB |
Erie | I-90 | Angola Service Area WB |
Erie | I-90 | Rest Area - 2 miles east of Eden/Angola |
Erie | I-90 | Rest Area - 7 miles west of Hamburg |
Genesee | I-90 | Pembroke Service Area |
Herkimer | I-90 | Iroquois Service Area |
Herkimer | I-90 | Schuyler Service Area |
Herkimer | I-90 | Indian Castle Service Area |
Madison | I-90 | Chittenango Service Area |
Monroe | I-90 | Ontario Service Area |
Monroe | I-90 | Scottsville Service Area |
Montgomery | I-90 | Mohawk Service Area |
Montgomery | I-90 | Rest Area - 10 miles east of Canajoharie |
Montgomery | I-90 | Rest Area - 2 miles west of Fultonville |
Oneida | I-90 | Oneida Service Area |
Oneida | I-90 | Rest Area - 3 miles east of Verona |
Oneida | I-90 | Rest Area - 3 miles west of Verona |
Onondaga | I-90 | Warners Service Area |
Onondaga | I-90 | DeWitt Service Area |
Ontario | I-90 | Junius Ponds |
Ontario | I-90 | Seneca Service Area |
Ontario | I-90 | Clifton Springs Service Area |
Ontario | I-90 | Rest Area - 9 miles east of Rochester |
Schenectady | I-90 | Pattersonville Service Area |
Schenectady | I-90 | Guilderland Service Area |
Seneca | I-90 | Rest Area - 15 miles west of Weedsport |
More Safety
How Better Visibility Cut Speeding Violations by 48%
Fleet leaders don't need more data, they need clearer visibility into what the data is saying. This case study explores how one utility replaced speeding-event counts with a single metric — miles driven in violation — to strengthen safety and significantly reduce speeding violations.
Read More →
Operation Safe Driver Week: Why the Industry's Oldest Safety Campaign Still Matters to Fleets
A look at how a 2007 enforcement initiative became one of the most consequential weeks on the fleet safety calendar, and what it means for your drivers in 2026.
Read More →
Nexar-Nauto Merger Aims to Give Fleets Better Safety Intelligence Through Larger Driving Dataset
Stefan Heck tells Automotive Fleet that combining more than 10 billion miles of driving history with Nexar's AI models will give fleets deeper insights into driver risk and roadway conditions than either company could provide independently.
Read More →
From Silos to Solutions: Relationship Management for Safer Fleets
From telematics adoption and driver accountability to policy consistency and risk mitigation, this episode breaks down what it really takes to build a safer fleet culture without slowing business down.
Read More →
IIHS Launches First Commercial Vehicle Safety Evaluations
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has begun evaluating heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver protection. Which models earned top marks?
Read More →
Reducing Risk by Eliminating Phone Use Behind the Wheel
Hosted with the cofounder of Lifesaver Mobile, this episode addresses phone use behind the wheel and how to design a driving environment that actually helps prevents accidents.
Read More →
Cameras, Safety and Insurance: From Reactive Claims to Real-Time Prevention (Part 2 of 2)
Part Two: Commercial auto remains one of the most challenging and costly lines of coverage for fleet operators and insurers alike. Continue learning more about how to effectively address these issues from Onur Aksan, Enterprise Business Development Executive, Geotab
Read More →
How 5-Second Telematics Data Is Changing Fleet Safety
This episode connects with Steve Santostasi of Ford Pro and covers how a few seconds of data can make a difference in fleet safety.
Read More →
Managing Road Risk at Scale: Why Fleet Safety Needs a Data-Driven Framework
Insights from the FIA Road and Driver Safety Indexes reveal how to manage road risk on a larger scale.
Read More →
Stellantis Recalls 1.3 Million Jeep Vehicles Worldwide Over Fire Risk
Stellantis is recalling more than 1.3 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models worldwide over a fire risk linked to power steering pump wiring.
Read More →