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Governor Josh Shapiro has been making an effort throughout his time leading Pennsylvania to improve road safety. With that, he signed into law a bill that targets distracted driving. This law, Senate Bill 37, was officially passed June 5th of last year. Under the new law, distracted driving, especially when it comes to texting, will be considered explicitly illegal. Drivers who are caught breaking the law will face stricter repercussions than before.
The law is being called the Paul Miller Law.
The nickname comes from a case in which distracted driving caused the death of a young man from Monroe County. The 21 year old, Paul Miller, was killed after he was his ca was hit by another car in which a distracted driver was reaching for their phone. Since Paul’s death, his family has been advocating for harsher laws in the state regarding distracted driving, ultimately leading to the formation of Senate Bill 37.
The law will go into effect on June 5.
Once the law goes into effect, handheld devices and cellphones are banned from being used by drivers any time the vehicle is in motion or temporarily stopped at a stop sign or a stop light. The law gets into specifics, stating that any device that can text, email, take pictures, send pictures, record videos, play videos, or access social media is banned and considered against the law to be used while driving a vehicle. Additionally, the law lays out specifications of where the device is allowed to be present. If a handheld device is being held or supported by any part of the driver’s body, it is a violation of the law. If a driver must press more than one button in order to answer a phone call, this also violates the law.
There are emergency exceptions to the law.
One section of the law outlines when drivers have the permission to access handheld devices. This is only if they are using them to communicate with law enforcement officials and other emergency service providers. It is important to note that the law does allow for phone calls to be made with the use of Bluetooth and other hands-free technologies.
With the law in its first year, officers will be more lenient.
During the first 12 months, as Pennsylvanians get used to the stricter law on distracted driving, they will only receive a written warning if they are caught using a handheld device or cellphone. After the law has been in place for a year, starting on June 5, 2026, drivers will be subject to fines. If the violation is for noncommercial drivers, there will be no mark on their record.
However, the worse the violation is, the harsher the punishment will be. This means drivers who are convicted of homicide due to distracted driving could receive an additional five years on a prison sentence, on top of the sentencing for the homicide itself.
