HARRISBURG, March 7, 2012— Pennsylvania takes an important step toward making its roadways safer for drivers when the ban on texting while driving goes into effect this week, Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa said today.
“Distracted drivers are a significant risk on our streets and highways,” said Costa (D-Allegheny). A study by Virginia Tech Driving Institute revealed that those who resort to texting while driving are 23 times more likely to meet with a vehicle crash. “The new law bans texting, as well as the sending of instant messages and email while driving in Pennsylvania.”
Costa said the long-term success of the law will hinge on whether the practice of not using wireless interactive devices while behind the wheel becomes part of the culture on the road. “Much in the way that the seatbelt use was increased dramatically when Pennsylvania enacted a mandatory seatbelt law, I hope that texting and emailing while driving becomes a thing of the past.”
Texting while driving would be considered a primary offense, a police officer can pull a driver over if the officer sees a driver texting. However, if a driver is selecting or entering a phone number or name for the purpose of making a phone call, they will not be violating the texting ban. Drivers are permitted to pull off to the side of the road and put their vehicle in ‘park’ and use their phone to text.
Anyone convicted of texting while driving under the new ban will face a fine of $50 for each infraction. Pennsylvania now joins more than 30 other states that already have a texting while driving ban.
Because text messaging requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver, it is by far the most alarming type of distracted driving. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, and an estimated 448,000 were injured.
More information can be found on Pennsylvania’s texting while driving ban here.
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