Blitz! NYPD Plans 24-Hour Cell Phone Crackdown

Put down the phone, drivers.

Police in New York City are planning a 24-hour crackdown on people who drive while using their mobile phones.

The ticket blitz is set to start at midnight Tuesday.

Police officials say they expect to issue thousands of citations. A similar blitz in March led to more than 6,700 tickets and $800,000 in fines.

Getting caught gabbing on your cell phone while behind the wheel costs about $130 -- and the city makes nearly $30 million a year on those tickets, according to the Daily News.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says police are only concerned with making the roads safer, not raising money for the cash-strapped city.

At least one study has found that people who talk on the phone while they drive are as impaired as some drunken drivers.