What public entity would feel free to transfer valuable naming rights to a retiring executive and pay royalties for 27 years?

Effective July 26, the fines for using a cell phone for any reason (except hands-free) have increased. This primary offense will now cost drivers $150 plus an $85 surcharge and they will also receive five violation points on their driver's license. A driver can get their license suspended if they receive 11 points during an 18-month period.

The new penalties come from the direction of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo—and it’s not the only thing he is doing to crack down on distracted drivers. The governor also signed legislation on July 1st that enacted new and tougher penalties for drivers with probationary and junior licenses convicted of texting-while-driving. This legislation requires violators' licenses suspended for 60 days after their first conviction for texting while driving.

AAA fully supports both the new penalties. John A. Corlett, Legislative Committee Chairman for AAA New York State, said, “Texting-while-driving is one of the riskiest behaviors any driver can undertake and poses a danger to everyone on our roads. AAA also strongly supports the Governor’s imposition of new penalties for texting-while-driving on new and younger drivers. There’s no reason that our least experienced drivers – teens with whom we are working to keep safe through graduated driver licensing and driver education, should be doing anything other than focusing on driving. In fact, traffic crashes remain the leading cause of death and injury for teens and surveys indicate texting is even more prevalent among young novice drivers. What that tells us is that even tougher penalties need to be put in place to affect behavior change.”

New York State Police will be increasing their enforcement on texting-while-driving throughout the summer.

Hoping drivers won't notice the fine print, some bridge, tunnel, and highway tolling authorities have quietly begun charging higher toll rates to travelers using E-ZPass in a state other than the one their pass is registered in.

AAA has raised the issue in Albany and Washington but legislators don't seem to be in any hurry to correct this moneymaking injustice.

E15, a potentially harmful fuel blend that poses increased risk for consumers is hitting markets before we know exactly how it affects our cars. And this new fuel, which contains up to 15 percent ethanol, could void your vehicle warranty - leaving you stuck with the bill for costly car repairs.

It's about time. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is finally getting serious about trucks hitting overpasses on New York's parkways.

For decades, trucks have mistakenly made their way onto the cars-only parkways, and unless the trucker stops before approaching the low clearance of an overpass, it's often a slamming, roof-shearing, traffic-paralyzing mess.

AAA New York State urges the legislature to hold public bridge and tunnel authorities accountable, remove canal operations from Thruway oversight, enact no-fault insurance reforms, enact right to repair legislation, address senior mobility issues, and fix the highway trust fund.

Click here to read our letter.

Counties and municipalities feeling the recessionary pinch are once again seeking to close their fiscal gaps with revenue raised from drivers.
The New York State Legislature recently approved 50 red-light cameras to be erected at major intersections in Nassau an

In a press conference marking the one year anniversary of the Port Authority’s unprecedented toll hikes, officials from AAA New York and AAA North Jersey will call on the Port Authority to stop stonewalling the public and elected officials regarding the use of toll revenues.

That crash may have been no accident. That victim's medical bills may have been inflated more than a hot air balloon. As a result, criminals rake in hundreds of millions of dollars while drivers throughout the state foot the bill.

New York is awash in a tsunami of insurance fraud, and it's no surprise that drivers in the state face the fourth-highest no-fault rates in the nation.