Pennsylvania is going to be the 27th state to outlaw using a hand-held phone while operating a motor vehicle.
The bill has passed both chambers of the General Assembly and is on its way to the governor’s desk for signature into law, according to a statement made by House Democrats on Wednesday.
“In Pennsylvania specifically, in 2022, we know that almost 12,000 people were in distracted driving crashes,” stated Tiffany Stanley, the public and community relations manager for AAA East Central.
All states bordering Pennsylvania already forbid the use of handheld cellphones.
“The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found in a study back in 2022 that 93% of motorists believed that it was dangerous to text and drive, yet four out of 10 of them admitted to doing it within the past 30 days.”
Stanley reports that 3,500 people died nationwide in 2021 as a result of distracted driving, or around nine people every day.
“Pull off the road, look at your phone, in your car or get out and look at it, but make sure you’re not driving, because all it takes is a few seconds, if you’re not paying attention, and that’s how accidents happen,” North Hills driver, Edward stated.
“I think it’s a good idea because too many people aren’t paying attention,” Edward stated.
“I support it because I think it’s going to save lives, it’s going to increase safety, and ultimately it’s just going to help people be a little bit more aware of what’s going on around them,” driver Tyler Whiteford stated.
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The bill permits you to use your phone for GPS navigation, emergency calls, and hands-free or Bluetooth phone conversations.
It forbids texting, typing, or scrolling on your phone while holding it up to your ear or in front of you. The law will go into force with a one-year warning period. Drivers who are detected after that will be fined $50.
“Anything you need to do you can just press the little speaker button and say, ‘call so and so,’ or honestly if it’s a text, it can wait,” Whiteford stated.
The bill also demands that driver education emphasize distracted driving more. All driver’s license exams must include at least one question about distracted driving.
