Distracted Driving | Ministry of Transport

Pennsylvania Distracted Conduct Law

Known as the law of Paul Miller, this law prohibits the use of portable devices during conduct.

As of June 5, 2025, the law prohibits as main infraction of any driver from using an interactive mobile device (IMD) when driving a motor vehicle.

Law:

• Defines an interactive mobile device such as a portable wireless phone, a personal digital assistant, a smartphone, a laptop or mobile, or a similar device that can be used for voice communication, SMS, e-mails, internet navigation, instant messaging, game reading, taking or transmission of images, recording or dissemination of videos, creation or sharing of social media.
• Defines driving as driving a motor vehicle on a highway, including each time the motor vehicle is temporarily stationary due to traffic, a traffic control device (for example, a traffic light or a stop panel) or another momentary period.
• Defines the use of an interactive mobile device as using at least one hand to hold or support with another body part, an interactive mobile device, compose or respond to an interactive mobile device by pressing more than one button, or by reaching an interactive mobile device which requires a driver to maneuver so that the driver is not more in a seated driving position, limited by a seat belt.

Penalties under this law

As a main infraction, drivers can be arrested by police if they have a mobile device by hand during driving.

• During the first 12 months, the penalty is a written warning.
• As of June 5, 2026, the sanction is a summary offense with a fine of $ 50, the more legal costs and other costs.
  • If a driver is found guilty of homicide by vehicle and driving during his distraction, he can be sentenced to an additional five years in prison.

A driver can use an interactive mobile device if the driver moves the vehicle to the side or out of the highway and stops at a location where the vehicle can remain stationary safely. The hands -free law authorizes an exception of emergency use if it is necessary to communicate with a law manager or another emergency service to prevent injuries to persons or to property.

Pennsylvania has prohibited texts

The law prohibits as the main infraction of any driver from using an interactive mobile device to send, read or write textual communication while his vehicle is in motion.

• Defines an interactive mobile device such as a portable wireless phone, a personal digital assistant, a smartphone, a laptop or mobile or a similar device that can be used for voice communication, SMS, e-mails, internet navigation, instant messaging, game reading, images taking or transmission, recording or dissemination of videos, creation or sharing of social media.
• Defines textual communication as a text message, an instant message, an email or another written communication composed or received on an interactive mobile device.
• Clearly indicates that this law replaces and pre -empt all local orders restricting the use of interactive wireless devices by drivers.

Penalties under this law

• The sanction is a summary offense with a fine of $ 50, the more legal costs and other costs.
• The violation has no point as a penalty and will not be recorded on the driver's file for non -commercial drivers. It will be registered on the files of commercial pilots as a non-sanctioned violation.

The prohibition of texts does not include the use of a GPS device, a system or a device that is physically or electronically integrated into the vehicle, or a communication device fixed on a public transport vehicle, a bus or a school bus. The law does not allow the entry of an interactive wireless device.

Distractions are everywhere

Mobile phones are not the only distraction by driving. You will not be able to react so quickly if you drive distracted. Examples of distractions include:

• Eat, drink and smoke. They all create security problems because they often force you to remove your hands from the steering wheel and leave your eyes on the road. Drivers who eat or drink by driving find it difficult to control their vehicle, stay on their way and must slow down more often.
• Adjusting the radio, cassette or CD player.
• Talking, sending SMS or sending an email to a mobile phone or a smartphone.
• Interact with other passengers. This is particularly a problem for novice or adolescent drivers. If you are a teenager driver with other teenagers as passengers, statistics show that you are more likely to have an accident than if you drive alone or drive with adult passengers.
• Search or move an object in the vehicle.
• Read or write.
• Personal grooming (combing hair, apply makeup).
• Rubbernecking during the passage of a crash scene or a work area.
• Looking at people, objects or events that occur on the road.

Distracted driving faces

“Faces of Distracted Driving” is a series of online photos exploring the tragic consequences of texts and the use of mobile phones while driving by sharing the stories of people from all over the country who were injured or lost to dear beings in distracting driving accidents. Click here to display “Distrait driving faces”.