Chatty Drivers Being Put on Hold Jan. 1

Suffolk County, home to the Hamptons and other playgrounds of the wealthy, has banned drivers from using hand-held phones except for emergency calls. “We are targeting a careless driving habit that didn’t exist 10 years ago,” County Executive Robert Gaffney said. After Jan. 1, violators will be fined $150. The county is believed to be the first in the nation to enact such a law, though there are similar local ordinances in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Brooklyn, Ohio, enacted the nation’s first such law in March. A 1997 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that motorists are three to six times more likely to have an accident while using a cell phone.