NY State Legislature proposes 'legal snooping' .. seizing electronics after an accident

[Bob]

Get into an accident in NY State and soon the cops may legally seize your computer, or cellphone to read your activity to see if you were 'distracted' prior to an accident.

How far will that go?

Just automobiles, or those walking who fail to see the crosswalk symbol turned to STOP and get into trouble or those using bicycles.. ?

The bill, which is still in committee, hopes to implement a field testing for use of cellphones and other portable electronics while driving after an accident of small collision.

If approved, police would be able to administer the test on the side of the road just like they do with breathalyzers. Those who refuse to submit their phones for testing could risk losing their license.

Ben Lieberman, co-founder of Distracted Operators Risk Casualties, said in a statement, "It's time to recognize that distracted driving is a similar impairment, and should be dealt with in a similar fashion. This is a way to address people who are causing damage."

Lieberman intensely lobbied for legislation since his son, Evan, was killed in 2011 by a distracted driver in New York.

The technology to create a "textalyzer" is currently being developed by several tech firms. One of them is Cellebrite, the Israeli firm associate with helping the FBI unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone.

Cellebrite already has roadside technology that can crack and scrape the content of a phone.

Telling the cops you were not using your device is not going to be good enough apparently..

(Source)

example of use:

MICHIGAN STATE POLICE ARE NOW USING AN ADVANCED EXTRACTION DEVICE TO DOWNLOAD CELL PHONE DATA FROM CITIZENS AT ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOPS.

A US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TEST OF THE CELLEBRITE UFED USED BY MICHIGAN POLICE GRAB THE PHOTOS AND VIDEO OFF OF AN IPHONE WITHIN ONE-AND-A-HALF MINUTES.

THE DEVICE WORKS WITH 3000 DIFFERENT PHONE MODELS AND DEFEATS ALL PASSWORD PROTECTIONS.

“A COMPLETE EXTRACTION OF EXISTING, HIDDEN, AND DELETED PHONE DATA, INCLUDING CALL HISTORY, TEXT MESSAGES, CONTACTS, IMAGES, AND GEOTAGS,” A CELLEBRITE BROCHURE EXPLAINS REGARDING THE DEVICE’S CAPABILITIES.

“THE PHYSICAL ANALYZER ALLOWS VISUALIZATION OF BOTH EXISTING AND DELETED LOCATIONS ON GOOGLE EARTH. IN ADDITION, LOCATION INFORMATION FROM GPS DEVICES AND IMAGE GEOTAGS CAN BE MAPPED ON GOOGLE MAPS.”

[Bob]

The two kingpins behind the proposed legislation (no doubt could form a framework for similar legislation across other States in the US and across the border into Canada), are New York State Senator Terrence Murphy (R-Westchester) and Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Kings).

Senator Murphy and Assemblyman Ortiz have introduced that bipartisan state bill, making New York the first state to attempt a distracted driving policy solution that enables police to examine phones at an accident site.

Assemblyman Ortiz said, "I'm proud to have been an early advocate to combat distracted driving and the sponsor of the nation's first law banning talking on a phone while driving.

Unfortunately, the problem has now developed beyond hands-free phone calling.

There's a significant number of drivers who continually engage in reckless behavior, such as texting, using apps and browsing the web on their mobile devices while behind the wheel.

These people will continue to put themselves and others at risk unless we come up with preventive ways to successfully stop them."

"The facts regarding distracted driving are startling," said Senator Murphy. "Every year thousands of Americans are involved in an automobile accident a result of distractions behind the wheel. I am thrilled to partner with Assemblyman Ortiz and the Lieberman family to bring more awareness to this issue and support legislation that will help our law enforcement more effectively enforce the rules of the road."

(Source)

[Bob]

New Jersey has gotten into the act, proposing legislation to indeed go after pedestrians who use their devices to text while walking..

They are calling it "distracted walking"..

The new law could lead to fines of up to $50 or 15 days’ imprisonment as a state lawmaker warns of the dangers of ‘distracted walking’..

Nevada and New Hampshire have done the same..

Listening to tunes while walking? That could get one busted with the proposed legislations cropping up (actually worldwide), and of course if the phone gets confiscated due to an "accident", the cops could take a look to "confirm the evidence"..

[Bob]

How about using a device, texting maybe, while riding? Listening to tunes while riding that bike?

A bike?

Florida notes a bike on a highway has to comply with all motor vehicle rules:

Florida, however, is one of only just a few states (Maryland) that make wearing typical headphones and earbuds while riding a bicycle illegal. In Florida, whether you feel it’s safe or dangerous, you must not cycle with headphones. The law says no person shall operate a vehicle (including bicycle), other than a hearing aid, while wearing a headset, headphone, or other listening device.

Can one still text while riding a bike in Florida ? Apparently yes, as long as the bike is not powered by any motor.

In California though, they have put the foot down..

"Hand-held phones for all, texting for all, and cell phones for minors are all prohibited in CA while driving or biking."

What is next, no texting while riding (a horse).. ? Well, it is a form of "walking", and on a road at that - would this fellow be pulled over and the device "tested" for texting?