What to know about new Pa. law banning hand-held cellphone use while driving

Yahoo

2 days ago

It's time to put the cellphone down.
Beginning Thursday, police in Pennsylvania can issue written warnings for using hand-held devices while driving — even if you're stopped temporarily in traffic, at a red light or other brief delay.
Gov. Josh Shapiro last June signed the measure, known as Paul Miller's Law. Miller was killed in a crash with a tractor-trailer in 2010 in Monroe County as the result of a distracted driver who reached for their phone while driving, officials said.
Paul Miller Jr. was killed in a crash with a tractor-trailer in 2010 in Monroe County as the result of a distracted driver who reached for their phone while driving. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
Pennsylvania already had been enforcing a texting-while-driving ban that prohibits drivers from using mobile devices to send, read or write text-based communications while their vehicle is in motion.
The new law, in addition to prescribing the written warnings, allows law enforcement to issue summary citations for cellphone use beginning June 6, 2026.
'Paul Miller's Law is about saving lives,' PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll announced following an event last week drawing attention to the effective date of the ban. 'Your choices behind the wheel can change lives forever. Make the safe choice. Put your phone out of reach and don't text and drive. One text, one glance down — it could kill someone. And it's not worth it.'
Under the law, drivers can still use their phones to alert emergency responders and if they are using hands-free technology to make phone calls, use a navigation program and listen to music.
In 2024, there were 9,950 crashes involving a distracted driver, resulting in more than 6,000 injuries and 49 fatalities, according to PennDOT. Officials note that distracted-driving crash data is likely underreported because many drivers are reluctant to admit to being distracted at the time of a crash.
Police perspective
Cumru Township Police Chief Madison Winchester, drawing on his experience as a parent of a young driver as well as his work as a policeman, recommends turning off your cellphone and putting it out of view to avoid the temptation to read a text or answer a call.
'There's just too much of a temptation to look at it,' he said. 'I think the safest way is to turn it off and put it away.'
Cumru Township Police Chief Madison Winchester
The law will make it easier to enforce the prohibition of texting while driving because drivers seen holding a cellphone while driving can no longer claim they were talking instead of texting, Winchester said. Now both are illegal uses of hand-held devices.
Winchester said the law is a step in the right direction but doesn't eliminate all distractions drivers face from using cellular communication in a vehicle. He said drivers can still be distracted by talking on the phone using hands-free technology.
'It's still a distraction to talk or have any communication away from driving,' Winchester said.
Amity Township Police Chief Jeffrey Smith said it's common to see people holding a phone while stopped at a red light. They're going to have to change their behavior or face potential consequences because the law says you can't use a hand-held device while behind the wheel, even if the vehicle is stationary, he said.
Amity Township Police Chief Jeffrey Smith (READING EAGLE)
'I think it's going to be a learning curve for everyone,' Smith said. 'Just like when the seat belt law went into effect. And you still have people who don't wear seat belts.'
Exeter Township Police Lt. Sean Fullerton said he's hoping people get on board with the law. They should be at least familiar with it from their travels in nearby states, including New Jersey, that already ban the use of hand-held devices while driving.
A mother's cause
Since Miller's death, his mother, Eileen, has become a national advocate for stronger laws to curb distracted driving.
Eileen Miller, national advocate and mother of Paul Miller Jr., during a conference in Harrisburg on May 27 urges drivers to put down the phone while driving. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
'Nearly 15 years ago, two Dunmore state troopers knocked on my door to tell me that my son was killed,' she said at the PennDOT event publicizing the law. 'My son did everything right — he was killed by someone else's unsafe choices behind the wheel.
'This law is for every family in Pennsylvania that doesn't have to experience two state troopers knocking on their door to tell them that their loved one was killed by distracted driving. Paul Miller's Law will be a beacon of protection for every driver and passenger in Pennsylvania.'
The law, penalties
PennDOT provided the following breakdown of the law and the penalties:
The law:
• Defines an interactive mobile device as a hand-held wireless phone, personal digital assistant, smartphone, portable or mobile computer or similar device that can be used for voice communication, texting, emailing, browsing the Internet, instant messaging, playing games, taking or transmitting images, recording or broadcasting videos, creating or sharing social media or otherwise sending or receiving electronic data.
• Defines driving as operating a motor vehicle on a highway, including anytime the vehicle is temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic control device (e.g., a traffic light or stop sign), or other momentary delay.
• Defines the use of an interactive mobile device as using at least one hand to hold, or supporting with another part of the body, an interactive mobile device, dialing or answering an interactive mobile device by pressing more than a single button, or reaching for an interactive mobile device that requires a driver to maneuver so that the driver is no longer in a seated driving position, restrained by a seat belt.
Penalties:
This is a primary offense, meaning drivers can be stopped by police who observe them with a mobile device in their hand while driving.
• For the first 12 months, the penalty is a written warning.
• Effective June 5, 2026, the penalty is a summary offense with a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees.
• If a driver is convicted of homicide by vehicle and driving while distracted, they may be sentenced up to an additional five years in prison.
A driver may use an interactive mobile device if the driver moves the vehicle to the side of or off a highway and stops where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.
The hands-free law allows for an emergency use exception if it is necessary to communicate with a law enforcement official or other emergency service to prevent injury to persons or property.
In the nation
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association:
• Hand-held cellphone use: 30 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cellphones while driving. All but Alabama and Missouri are primary enforcement laws — an officer may cite a driver for using a hand-held cellphone without any other traffic offense taking place.
• All cellphone use: No state bans all cellphone use for all drivers, but 36 states and D.C. ban all cellphone use by novice drivers, and 25 states and D.C. prohibit it for school bus drivers.
• Text messaging: Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. There are text-messaging bans for all drivers in 49 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All but six have primary enforcement.