Licensing, insurance and the law
A driver with a junior license is convicted for the first time of texting while driving. What happens to the license?
- It is suspended for 120 days. Correct answer
- It is suspended for 90 days.
- It is suspended for six months.
Why
Every driver in New York faces fines for using a hand-held phone or texting behind the wheel, up to $200 for a first offense. Drivers with junior or probationary licenses face something heavier on top: a first conviction for hand-held phone use or texting brings a 120-day suspension. The other two numbers are real suspensions from a different chapter. Ninety days is the license action for an adult's first DWAI, and six months is the suspension for a first Zero Tolerance violation by a driver under 21. A new driver who confuses these is mixing phone rules with alcohol rules. For a junior or probationary driver, a single texting conviction means 120 days of suspension.
Where this comes from
New York State Driver's Manual (MV-21), April 2026 version. The correct answer is It is suspended for 120 days.
- Chapter 8 / Defensive Driving › Using a Cellular or Mobile Telephone › Penalties for texting, electronic device use, page 52
- Chapter 9 / Alcohol & Other Drugs › Penalties for Alcohol/Drug Related Violations, page 58
- Chapter 9 / Alcohol & Other Drugs › The Consequences › Zero Tolerance for Drivers Under Age 21, page 57
- Chapter 8 / Defensive Driving › Using a Cellular or Mobile Telephone, page 52