Act 18 of 2024 – Use of Handheld Interactive Devices While Driving – took effect Thursday, June 5.
Distracted driving is the cause of accidents too many to count, from minor fender benders to major accidents resulting in substantial injuries and, too often, deaths. It is almost unthinkable that legislatures across the country have had to enact laws against such activities, as you would think drivers would understand the perils of distracted driving. But just as too many fail to understand the problems of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, this new law seemed inevitable.
Even one small second of distraction can have disastrous consequences, no matter how many people have sworn to me that they are in control of their vehicle. It’s always the other driver who is not.
Our cellphones are glued to us. We use them everywhere: restaurants, church, movies, classrooms and pretty much everywhere else. We are losing our ability to engage directly with other humans. Unfortunately, our obsession with our phones is leading to dire consequences.
Act 18 amends Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Statutes on Vehicles, making it unlawful for a driver to hold a mobile handheld device while driving on Pennsylvania roads or highways. That means any road. You can now be pulled over just for holding your phone. It is also unlawful to use your device at a stop sign or traffic signal or even in stopped traffic. I have heard from many police officers who have told me about minor incidents, which sometimes escalated, as people were not paying attention in stopped traffic and/or at traffic signals.
Basically, if you are driving in any capacity, even if you are stopped on a roadway, you cannot be holding your device.
The exception is that a driver can use a mobile device if the driver has safely pulled off to the side of the roadway at a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary. A driver may also use a device in an emergency to communicate with emergency personnel or law enforcement to prevent injury.
The law does not ban the use of a GPS device or system that is physically or electronically integrated into the vehicle, or a communication device that is affixed to a mass transit vehicle, bus or school bus.
Distracted driving information will be part of the curriculum for getting a learner’s permit and driving examination.
Those pulled over for violating this law will receive a written warning for the first 12 months that the law is in effect. On June 5, 2026, the penalty will be set as a summary offense with a $50 fine. For anyone who is convicted of homicide by vehicle and is also convicted of driving while distracted, an additional term of five years imprisonment can be added to that person’s sentence.
Those of us old enough can remember leaving our house with no means of communicating to others without stopping at a phone booth or a local establishment. Times have since changed.
Having a phone with you can be a good thing in the event of an emergency. It can be a lifesaver. But using your phone as a handheld device while you are driving can and does cause life-changing injuries and deaths.
We need to ask ourselves if that text or call or post that we read even while stopped in traffic is really necessary. Truthfully, there is very little that cannot wait until we pull over to a safe spot or until we get home.
For more information, contact my office at 412-264-4260 for assistance.
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