Heads-up, motorists
Enforcement of new cellphone ban behind wheel starting
Driving southbound on I-79 in Washington County in recent days, motorists might have seen one of the highway’s electronic billboards bearing a simple message: “Phones Down, Eyes Up. It’s the Law.”
And starting Friday, drivers who are caught with their eyes down gazing at their phones – even at a stop light or while they are trapped in traffic – will face $50 fines, plus court costs and fees that could ultimately total somewhere between $150 and $200.
The reason is that Paul Miller’s Law will be fully going into effect. The law, which was named for a Scranton-area college student who was killed in 2010 by a distracted truck driver, prohibits the use of handheld devices while driving. In the year since Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the law, drivers have been issued warnings when they have been stopped. Now, the law will have teeth.
The last year “has been all about education,” said Rocco Gagliardi, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police. At a press conference Tuesday outside the AAA office in South Strabane, Gagliardi added, “What you’re going to see Friday is the full force of enforcement.”
In the last year, Pennsylvania State Police issued more than 1,000 warnings to drivers when they were using hand-held devices while driving, along with warnings issued by local departments. On Monday, police departments along Route 19 had what was described by North Strabane police as an “education and enforcement initiative,” where drivers seen using their phones were issued warnings, even if they were using them at a stop light.
In a statement, Lt. Col. George L. Bivens, the acting commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, explained that as the warning period for the law ends “troopers will begin issuing citations to drivers using handheld devices behind the wheel. Distracted driving is dangerous and significantly increases the risk of crashes. Just a moment of inattention can lead to life-altering consequences.”
Under the law, a driver who is at fault for a fatal accident could receive an additional five years in prison if they were found to have been distracted when the mishap occurred.
Pennsylvania also has a ban on texting while driving that forbids motorists from reading, writing or sending text messages while they are behind the wheel. Neighboring states, including Maryland and West Virginia, have enacted laws similar to Paul Miller’s Law.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), there were almost 10,000 crashes in the commonwealth in 2024 that involved a distracted driver. This resulted in 49 deaths and 6,000 injuries.
In the lead-up to the change in the law Friday, PennDOT is urging drivers to pull over to a safe spot if they urgently have to make a call or send a text message, ask a passenger to be a “designated texter,” stay off social media while driving and activate the phone’s “do not disturb” feature. The law does make exceptions if the driver is experiencing an emergency. It also allows for one-touch phone calls or the use of GPS if the phone is in a magnetic holder on the dashboard.
Jim Garrity, director of public affairs for AAA East Central, said if the phone is too great a temptation for drivers, they should disable notifications or even put it in the backseat or the trunk for the duration of their journey.
“A lot of the time, you see crashes that are completely preventable,” Garrity explained. “Road safety begins with all of us.”