During this period, records show that: 45,910 tickets were issued in Brooklyn, 45,036 in Manhattan, 38,947 in Queens, 12,763 in the Bronx and 5,114 on Staten Island. In each case, the total number of issued tickets was higher than the year before (when the texting law was a secondary offense). For instance, there were 91 tickets issued for illegal texting in the Bronx before the law was changed, and 900 the following year.
Statistics show that during this same period there were nearly 20,000 tickets issued for texting, up from about 4,500 the year before. However, while there were 296,094 tickets issued for using a cellphone between July 2010 and July 2011, that number dropped to 218,323 after the law was changed.
While we strongly urge you to never text and drive, and never use a mobile phone without a hands-free device, the above stats show that doing so in New York City will most likely get a ticket.