HARRISBURG (KYW Newsradio) — It will soon be illegal to hold a phone while driving in Pennsylvania. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill into law that’s named after a 21-year-old who was killed by a distracted driver, after an emotional speech from that man’s grieving mother.
“Finally, after 12 years.”
Eileen Miller’s son Paul Miller, Jr. was killed in July 2010, when a tractor-trailer crossed a grass median and slammed into Paul’s car head-on.
“I whispered in the ear of my son at the morgue … that when I found out what had caused that crash — and I would find out — that I would fight for change.”
Miller would soon learn the truck driver was on his phone when he hit her son.
Republican State Sen. Rosemary Brown started working with Miller 12 years ago, not long after she was first elected.
“I knew it was absolutely needed to do our best to change the behavior of drivers behind the wheel while using a cell phone to prevent crashes to build public safety. And of course, to work to save lives,” Brown said.
Texting while driving was already illegal, but the way the law was written made it hard to enforce. The new law allows hands-free use of phones, but forbids holding the phone to talk, text, or take videos or pictures while driving.
The law has a one year grace period, during which will be issued — then violations will incur a $50 fine.
The governor’s office says distracted driving is the leading cause of car crashes in Pennsylvania.
More than 30 other states ban handheld devices while driving, including all states that border Pennsylvania.