Pennsylvania to ban cell phone use while driving and require police to collect traffic stop data

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania will join the majority of states that ban drivers from using a cell phone while driving for almost any purpose, as the legislation’s proponents hope to reduce the number of distracted driving crashes and deaths after nearly two decades of pushing on the measure.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said Thursday that the Democrat will sign the bill, 18 years after he first introduced a similar bill while in the House of Representatives. The ban will take effect a year after he signs it, which is expected in the coming days.

The bill also includes a provision long sought by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus as a bulwark against racial profiling. That provision requires larger police departments, as well as the Pennsylvania State Police, to collect and publicly report data on traffic stops, including a driver’s race.

The bill passed both houses of the state legislature this week and will bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the law on cell phone use by motorists in each of its neighboring states. Currently, Pennsylvania’s restriction on cell phone use while driving only applies to texting.

Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe, has been pushing for more than a decade to tighten Pennsylvania’s restrictions on cell phone use while driving. Its passage is a “monumental victory” for Pennsylvania that will protect drivers, prevent accidents and save lives, Brown said in a statement.

Under the bill, police can fine a driver who uses his phone for almost any reason. Drivers can still use their phone to make calls or for other functions, such as listening to music, if they use it hands-free with technology such as a docking station, Bluetooth or speakers.

The ban applies to motorists sitting in traffic or at a traffic light, but does not apply to motorists who have parked on the side of the road or in another place where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.

Other exceptions include navigation use or alerting emergency services. A first offense is punishable by a $50 fine, and offenders who cause serious accidents may face longer jail time.

Shapiro called the bill “common sense.”

“I’ve met too many families who have an empty seat at the dinner table because of distracted driving. I have met too many people with injuries that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives because they were hit by a distracted driver,” Shapiro told WILK-FM radio in Pittston during an interview last month.

The number of crashes in which a distracted driver was a contributing factor has fallen in Pennsylvania over the past decade as the number of crashes overall has declined, state data show.

In some years it was the second leading cause of accidents. In 2022, it was the third leading cause. That was behind speed and inappropriate turning, but before drinking alcohol, careless passing and tailgating.

According to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 states ban cell phone use while driving.

Meanwhile, at least 23 states have laws about collecting data on traffic stops, the group said.

Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, said caucus members were concerned that police could abuse a broad new power to stop motorists and target racial minorities.

Collecting traffic stop data is important for accountability, Nelson said.

“I believe this will be an important victory for transparency and will help continue to build trust between community members and those sworn to serve and protect,” Nelson said in an interview.

Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, who worked for several years to get the provision signed into law, called it a “major step for Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania State Police recently began voluntarily collecting and reporting traffic stop data and some municipal police departments are doing so as well, Bullock said.

But individual departments’ methods are not uniform, as will be the case under the new law, Bullock said.

Data released last year by state police and analyzed by the National Policing Institute showed no differences between racial and ethnic groups in warnings, citations or arrests. But police were more than twice as likely to search black and Hispanic drivers than white drivers, the report found.

Under the upcoming law, the data police must report includes the reason for the stop, details of a search of the vehicle and the race, ethnicity, age and gender of the driver who was stopped. Police forces serving municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are exempt from the obligation.

The data collection obligation will come into effect in a year and a half. After the mobile phone ban comes into effect, motorists will be given another year’s extension during which they will only receive a written warning for violating it.

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Follow Marc Levy at twitter.com/timelywriter.