Latest news with #Act18
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Officials remind drivers to put down the phone; Paul Miller's Law to take effect June 5
May 27—WILKES-BARRE — Paul Miller's Law is about saving lives, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said on Tuesday. "Your choices behind the wheel can change lives forever," he said. "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." On Tuesday, in keeping with Gov. Josh Shapiro's commitment to safety on Pennsylvania roads, the Shapiro Administration urged drivers to put down the phone while driving, ahead of the June 5 effective date for Paul Miller's Law, which makes it illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PA Turnpike), and Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) joined Sen. Rosemary Brown and national advocate Paul Miller Sr. and Eileen Miller, Paul Miller Jr.'s parents, to urge drivers to make safe choices behind the wheel. As part of his mission to provide a safe transportation system for all Pennsylvanians, Gov. Shapiro signed Senate Bill 37 into law on June 5, 2024. Effective June 5, 2025, the law — known as "Paul Miller's Law" — prohibits the use of hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped temporarily due to traffic, a red light, or other momentary delay. Pennsylvania already enforces 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. Beginning June 5, law enforcement will begin issuing written warnings for violations of Senate Bill 37. Law enforcement will have the ability to issue summary citations to violators beginning June 6, 2026. Under Paul Miller's 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 GPS, and listen to music. "As the Prime-Sponsor of Senate Bill 37, now Act 18 of 2024, seeing this law go into effect is incredibly rewarding knowing it will save lives," said Sen. Brown, R-Monroe County. "Since day one I have always believed in this commonsense policy. It's important that drivers remember that the cellphone has become the most consistent, repetitive, and lengthy distraction behind the driver's wheel causing significant public safety concerns. This law will change behaviors and save lives. The legislature passed Senate Bill 37, now Act 18, with overwhelming bi-partisan support, and I am confident that my efforts, along with the efforts of my friend Eileen Miller, have Pennsylvania going in the right direction for public safety." The law is named for Paul Miller Jr., who was tragically 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. Since his death, Paul's mother Eileen Miller has become a national advocate for stronger laws to curb distracted driving. "Nearly 15 years ago, two Dunmore state troopers knocked on my door to tell me that my son was killed," said Eileen Miller, Paul Miller Jr.'s mother. "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." Paul Miller's Law will also work to prevent bias in policing by requiring law enforcement to collect data on drivers pulled over during traffic stops, including race, ethnicity, and gender. The data will be made publicly available in an annual report. "The Pennsylvania State Police will enforce the new law to its full extent," said PSP Commissioner Colonel Christopher Paris. "Distracted driving is not a minor offense. Just one second of inattention can result in irreversible consequences. We urge all drivers to stay focused behind the wheel." According to PennDOT data, in 2024 there were 9,950 crashes involving a distracted driver, resulting in more than 6,000 injuries and 49 fatalities. Distracted driving crash data, however, is believed to be under-reported due to many drivers' reluctance to admit to being distracted at the time of a crash. Safe driving tips —If you are expecting a text message or need to send one that can't wait, pull over and park your car in a safe location before using your device. —Ask a passenger to be your "designated texter." Allow them access to your phone to respond to calls or messages. —Do not engage in social media scrolling or messaging while driving. —Cell phone use is habit-forming. Struggling to not text and drive? Activate your phone's "Do Not Disturb" feature, silence notifications, or put your phone in the trunk, glove box or back seat of your vehicle until you arrive at your destination. Cell phone use is not the only distraction while driving. Anything that takes your attention away from driving, your eyes off the road, or your hands off the wheel is a distraction. Driver behavior is the leading factor in 83% of the crashes that occur annually in Pennsylvania. These behaviors include driving distracted, impaired or aggressive. For information on distracted driving, visit PennDOT's media resources web page offers social media-sized graphics for numerous transportation-related campaigns, including safety topics such as aggressive driving, speeding, distracted driving and seat belts for organizations, community groups, or others who share safety information with their stakeholders. Find PennDOT news on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police, state support legislation to monitor parts for ghost guns
Honolulu police and state law enforcement officials are hoping a proposed piece of federal legislation will help stop the proliferation of untraceable, homemade firearms in Hawaii. The so-called ghost guns are firearms made privately and not marked with a serial number. They are almost impossible for law enforcement to trace when used during a crime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Gun Hardware Oversight and Shipment Tracking Act of 2025, aka the 'Ghost Act, ' would create within the DOJ the Federal Interstate Firearm Parts Reporting System to assist law enforcement officers in 'monitoring the shipment or transportation of covered firearm components in interstate or foreign commerce, ' according to draft language of the legislation, introduced today by U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii. The measure would require that five business days before an 'entity ships or transports in interstate or foreign commerce a covered firearm component, ' the entity must register the shipment or transportation of the covered firearm component by submitting the 'name, physical mailing address, phone number or electronic mail address, and the eligible identification number ' of the entity and the intended recipient. Documenting the shipping method, name of the shipper, a list or manifest of items, and the use of registered or certified mail are among the requirements of the proposed legislation. Any violation of the proposed law would result in a fine and up to a year in federal prison. If the violation involves 50 or more 'covered firearm components as part of a single act, commission, conspiracy, or enterprise, ' it is punishable by a fine and up to 10 years in federal prison. State law already bans ghost guns in Hawaii. A measure enacted in 2020 made it a felony to buy, make or import firearm parts for the purpose of assembling guns with no serial numbers. The recently concluded legislative session resulted in further firearms regulation via House Bill 392, which bans ghost guns across the islands. Gov. Josh Green last month signed the legislation, now known as Act 18. Speaking to reporters after a 3D gun-assembly demonstration by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the Honolulu Police Department's Ke Kula Maka'i training division in Waipahu, Tokuda said the proposed legislation is about public safety and transparency, and that legal firearm owners, manufactures and retailers would not be negatively affected. 'You can have a file downloaded online and print it on a 3D printer, put it all together and you've got a machine gun—right now. That's really what we are fighting here, ' Tokuda said. 'This is about accountability, this is about traceability. This is something that legal gun owners should embrace because, really, we know the ones that are trying to be untraceable are the ones causing chaos on our streets. This in no way infringes on their abilities and their rights … this is about holding people accountable. 'Let's not make it easy for people to buy the parts that they need to make (illegal ) weapons … endangering law enforcement … killing … innocent lives across this country, ' she added. 'That's what the Ghost Act is all about.' Last year, HPD confiscated found during criminal investigations through Oct. 31, a nearly 70 % increase from the 52 found by officers in 2023, the first year the department started tracking the statistic. 'It's a great act to help us in law enforcement have an idea about what and who is bringing parts into the City and County of Honolulu and … the State of Hawaii so we as law enforcement can help keep everyone safe on our streets, ' said Honolulu Police Chief Arthur 'Joe ' Logan, speaking alongside Tokuda and Mike Lambert, director of the state Department of Law Enforcement. Nationally from 2016 through 2021, 45, 240 ghost guns taken from crime scenes, including 692 murders or attempted murders, were reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives by law enforcement agencies. But county, state and federal law enforcement have no idea of the true number of homemade weapons that are on the street. Lambert said that under the proposed federal statute, lists of regulated firearm parts would be shared with law enforcement. Seeing the number of gun kits and firearm parts being shipped to Hawaii, where they are coming from and who is receiving them would help identify people prohibited from possessing guns. 'We actually have no idea about how many ghost guns … homemade weapons, there are (in Hawaii ) because these parts … (are ) not currently tracked or regulated. We would be able to know … how many of these kits are coming into the state … . Right now we have no clue, ' said Lambert, a former HPD major. 'If you are a legal gun owner and you are selling a part to someone … you want to make sure that individual is allowed to acquire that … (and ) they are a real person and they are not a felon. For me, as a legal gun owner, I have no problem registering a part to know it's going to a real person versus I'm sending it out to someone with a fictitious name and they do something terrible with it.' Ghost guns can be built from scratch or with parts kits, including 'buy-build-shoot ' kits and 3D printers. Buy-build-shoot kits are pre-made, disassembled, complete firearms. Video tutorials on YouTube detail how to make polymer handguns or rifles with the same tools hobbyists use for modeling and crafting. Other instructions online walk viewers though how to build and insert a 10-cent piece of 3D-printed plastic into a personally manufactured AR-15-style assault rifle that allows the weapon to fire automatically. Skilled ghost gun makers can make an assault rifle with a 3D printer in two to three hours.
