People in New York may have seen an image on Facebook or another social media account that has gone viral, depicting a ticket for distracted driving in the state of New York in the amount of $850. Despite the fact that this image has been shared nearly 250,000 times, it serves as a prime example that you cannot believe everything you see.

That is because the entire image is fake. The image appears to show a distracted driving traffic ticket indicating that such an infraction would result in a $850 fine. However, upon closer inspection one can see that some of the words on the ticket have varying colors and are of different degrees of sharpness. Moreover, the section of law cited on the ticket actually is not related to distracted driving at all. Finally, a distracted driving ticket in New York will not result in a $850 fine. The maximum fine for distracted driving in the state is $400 less, at $450.

A New York Police Department lieutenant has verified that the ticket is fake. He notes the fine is incorrect. He also points out that traffic agents per law are not permitted to issue summons when it comes to distracted driving – only police officers are able to do so.

As you can see, it pays to take a second look at information found online. Those who do have questions about traffic violations in New York, and their penalties, may want to avoid signing on to their computers in search of answers, but instead may want to contact a criminal defense attorney for professional advice.

Source: wgrz.com, “Verify: cost of a distracted driving ticket in NY,” Michael Wooten, Sept. 12, 2017