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In many ways, cellphones have made our lives easier. But cellphones can also impair a driver’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, which can easily lead to traffic collisions and injuries. In effort to reduce cellphone-related motor vehicle accidents in Pennsylvania, a ban on texting while driving will go into effect next month.
When the ban becomes official on March 8, texting while driving will be considered a primary offense in Pennsylvania and state law enforcement will have the ability to pull over drivers for this reason alone. Those found guilty of texting while driving will be fined $50.
Several studies have demonstrated the risks texting while driving creates. A study by the National Safety Council found that drivers using cellphones are more likely to “look at” but not “see” the road ahead of them. The study also described drivers using cellphones as having tunnel vision, thereby making them less attentive to hazards in the road.
Pennsylvania’s Fox News interviewed many drivers who said they were in support of the ban. However, some questioned the ability of law enforcement to properly enforce the ban as using a cellphone to make a call or check the GPS is not included under the law.
The Northern Lancaster County Regional police chief said he stands by the new law 100 percent after his former co-worker lost his life to someone who was texting while behind the wheel. He said that while there will be some challenges in enforcing the law, people will have the opportunity to contest the charges in court.
Pennsylvania will join many other states that already have laws in effect against texting while driving.
Source: Fox 43, “Pennsylvania texting while driving ban to go into effect in March,” Trang Do, Feb. 16, 2012