BY JOE TYRRELL
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
New Jersey drivers can press buttons on their cell phones without violating the state law requiring "hands-free" calls, an appellate court has ruled.
The decision in a Bergen County case did not overturn the law requiring drivers to use cell phones with hands-free attachments except in emergencies.
But Judges Linda G. Baxter and Edith K. Payne also said penalties are not automatic when police see a driver holding a cell phone. "The plain language of the statute" permits some manual phone operations while driving, they said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to try a new approach to clean up one of the many Superfund sites left by NL Industries.
