It's not the first time that Brooklyn (pop. 11,700) and Coyne, 82, who was first elected in 1948, have taken the lead on driving safety. In 1966, after Coyne saw a child who was riding in the front seat of her parents' car hit her head on the windshield, the city passed the nation's first seat-belt law. His clampdown on cellphone abusers was also inspired by an accident. "In early March," he says, "our chief of police saw an elderly woman driver smashed by another car." The driver of the second car was talking on a cell phone and, according to the chief, continued talking even after the crash.
The new town ordinance, in effect since March 22, requires drivers to keep both hands on the steering wheel while talking on a cellular phone—so hands-free sets are exempt. So far, there have been no arrests, although about 100 warnings have been issued and newly posted signs alert drivers to the law, which carries a $100 penalty.
Coyne, a grandfather of nine who has lived in Brooklyn since he was a year old, doesn't own a cell phone. Says the mayor wryly: "I'm not that important."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
