Texting While Driving Ban Signed into Law in PA

On Wednesday, Gov. Corbett signed S.B. 314 into law, which makes texting while driving a primary offense. Pennsylvania is the 35th state to ban texting while driving for all drivers.

Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) said in a press release, "I am thrilled that this measure is finally becoming law in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said. "I have fought for years for this commonsense legislation. It isn’t often that lawmakers can truly know the effect of a new law in advance. This is one case where we do; signing this bill into law today will simply save lives on Pennsylvania’s roadways."

“This piece of legislation certainly targets the most dangerous activity on our roads besides drunk driving, and that is distracted driving whether in regards to texting, or e-mailing or Internet access,” said Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery).

The law takes effect 120 days after enactment, on March 8, 2012.

As a primary offense, a driver can be pulled over if an officer sees you texting while driving. The offense carries a $50 fine but no points.