Following a year-long warning period, Pennsylvania drivers will have to keep their hands off their cellphones while driving or risk a $50 ticket starting next month.
Known as Paul Miller’s Law, the new legislation banning the use of all handheld devices while driving in Pennsylvania goes into effect on June 6. Police will now be able to stop drivers for using any handheld electronic device, even when stopped at a red light. A violation is considered a primary offense, meaning no other laws need to be broken for an officer to make a stop.
Since last June, drivers who were caught using handheld devices were issued written warnings for violations. Now, they could face more serious consequences.
State law has barred drivers from reading, writing or sending text messages while driving since 2012, but other handheld cellphone uses were permitted.
Pennsylvania is now one of 30 states that ban drivers from using handheld electronic devices.
How does Paul Miller’s Law work to curb distracted driving in PA?
Paul Miller’s Law defines an interactive mobile device as basically any electronic handheld device that can be used for things such as voice communication, texting, surfing the internet, playing games, taking photos, or sharing social media that can be operated using at least one hand or “supporting body part” or requires pressing more than a single button.
What about if I am stopped at a red light, can I check my phone?
No. The Pennsylvania law defines driving as operating a motor vehicle on a highway, including anytime the vehicle is temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic control device or other momentary delay such as a traffic backup.
What are the penalties under PA’s cellphone law?
- Starting June 6, 2026, the penalty is a summary offense with a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees.
- The law does not authorize the seizure of an interactive wireless device.
- The violation carries no points against your license and it is not recorded on the driver’s record for noncommercial drivers. It will be recorded on a commercial driver’s record as a non-sanction violation.
- If a driver is convicted of homicide by vehicle and driving while distracted, they may be sentenced up to an additional five years in prison.
When can I use a mobile device in the car in Pennsylvania?
- A driver may use an interactive mobile device if the driver moves the vehicle to the side of or off a highway and halts in a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.
- The hands-free law allows for an emergency use exception if it is necessary to communicate with a law enforcement official or other emergency service to prevent injury to persons or property.
- The texting ban does not include the use of a GPS device or a system or device that is physically or electronically integrated into the vehicle, or a communications device that is affixed to a mass transit vehicle, bus or school bus.
Who was Paul Miller?
The law’s namesake, 21-year-old Paul Miller Jr., was killed in a head-on motor vehicle accident with a tractor-trailer in 2010 in Monroe County as the result of a distracted driver who reached for their phone while driving. He was a junior at East Stroudsburg University where he was majoring in sociology. His parents say he planned to pursue a career in law enforcement or criminal justice.
After his death, his mother, Eileen Miller, has become a national advocate for stronger laws to curb distracted driving. Gov. Josh Shapiro eventually signed the bill into law in 2024.
What else will Paul Miller’s Law do?
It requires law enforcement to collect data on drivers pulled over during traffic stops, including race, ethnicity and gender. The data will be made publicly available in an annual report. The amendment was added to prevent bias in policing, according to the Shapiro administration.
Is distracted driving a problem in Pennsylvania?
There were 9,950 crashes involving distracted driving statewide in 2024, resulting in 49 fatalities, according to PennDOT data.
Distracted driving crash data is believed to be underreported due to many drivers’ reluctance to admit to being distracted at the time of a crash, according to the transportation agency.
Distracted driving was also the leading cause of car crashes in Pennsylvania in 2023, the agency reported.
