Talking, and texting, distracts drivers

Pennsylvania prohibits texting while driving and wearing earphones at the wheel, but not conversing on a phone.

Drivers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey don’t need statistical evidence to understand the dangers of distracted driving — they witness it on the roads every day, often in connection with cellphone use.

Pennsylvania prohibits texting while driving and wearing earphones at the wheel, but not conversing on a phone. Texting is primary offense, which means police can stop a driver on suspicion of sending or checking text messages. The fine is $50.

In New Jersey it’s illegal to talk on a phone or text while driving.

First-time violators face fines of $200 to $400, with higher fines for repeat offenses. Hands-free phone use is allowed.

We’ve argued for years — since Pennsylvania adopted its texting ban in 2011 — that any use of a cellphone while driving is dangerous, and should be outlawed.

There are many forms of driver distraction, and all pose dangers.

Anything that diverts attention from the road, even for a second — like adjusting climate controls or music, spilling something, applying makeup, yelling at the kids — is a lapse that can lead to a crash.

Now there’s updated evidence that Pennsylvania drivers are continuing to text at the wheel, and that police are getting better at detecting it.

According to information released by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, the number of tickets handed out for distracted driving — on a steady rise for five years — really spiked in 2017.

The number of citations for distracted driving jumped by 52 percent last year over the year before.

The increases are more dramatic in Lehigh and Northampton counties, where texting-related citations went from under 100 in each county to more than 200 last year.

In almost every county, texting was the distraction accounting for the highest number of citations.

State police say this reflects better detection and specific patrols set aside to look for signs of distracted driving.

And how’s this for irony? Police say many complaints about texting at the wheel are phoned into 911 centers by those who observe others doing it. We’d like to think those drivers pulled over to make those calls, or the calls were made by passengers. That’s wishful thinking.

The most effective way to deter phonerelated distraction on the roads is to prohibit all uses, at least with hand-held devices.

Many people are on board with tougher laws.

In an informal lehighvalleylive.com poll in June 2017, 68 percent of respondents said talking on hand-held phones while driving should be illegal.

Last year a group of state representatives signed on to House Bill 1684, which would ban cellphone use while driving, with exceptions for handsfree units and in emergencies.

Among the co-sponsors are state Reps. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton, and Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh.

We’re not sure what it will take for such a measure to gain sufficient traction in Harrisburg, but the evidence — statistical as well as everyday eyewitness accounts — keeps telling us it’s needed, to fight distraction-related death and injury on the roads.

Increased policing of Pennsylvania’s texting ban is appreciated, but it’s not enough.

We’ve argued for years — since Pennsylvania adopted its texting ban in 2011 — that any use of a cellphone while driving is dangerous, and should be outlawed. Anything that diverts attention from the road, even for a second is a lapse that can lead to a crash.