Under New York law, when may a driver use a hands-free mobile telephone?
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A.
Only during declared emergencies.
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B.
Only while stopped at a red light.
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C.
At any time behind the wheel. Correct
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D.
Only after age 21.
The answer is "At any time behind the wheel."
The manual states that a hands-free telephone is legal at any time behind the wheel: no age, hour, or situation restriction attaches to it. Choice B is the trap for drivers who carry over the 'text at a red light' habit from other contexts, but the red-light carve-out is not in the manual for calls either. Hands-free is fully legal, and the exception was never needed.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Only during declared emergencies.
Hands-free calls are legal on any drive, not just during emergencies; only hand-held use carries an emergency-only exception. This answer reads the emergency carve-out for hand-held phones as the rule for hands-free phones too.
B. Only while stopped at a red light.
There is no need for a red-light or stopped-traffic carve-out because hands-free use is legal while the car is moving as well. This answer extends the myth of a red-light pause to a rule that already permits phone use throughout the drive.
D. Only after age 21.
Hands-free use has no age floor written into the manual; the age-tied restrictions apply to hand-held and texting rules, not to hands-free calls. This answer confuses the junior-license restrictions on hand-held use with a general age rule for all phone use.
This question tests your knowledge of Distracted Driving in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Using a Cellular or Mobile Telephone," p.52..
Related New York questions
- How many license points does a New York driver receive for improper cell phone use (talking on a hand-held mobile phone while driving)? →
- Under New York's hand-held mobile phone ban, and outside the emergency and official-duty exemptions, a driver may pick up the phone for which purpose? →
- According to the New York manual, what defines a hands-free mobile telephone? →
- Which driver is exempt from New York's ban on speaking into a hand-held mobile telephone while driving? →
- What is the maximum fine for a first-offense texting-while-driving conviction in New York? →
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