A risk not worth taking

Legislature neuters a bill to target distracted driving

The Pennsylvania Legislature’s move to ban the use of a hand-held cellphone while driving seemed like a commonsense rule that could help save lives on roads throughout the commonwealth.

But the state House’s approval of the ban last week came just one day after it approved an amendment that made the cellphone use a secondary offense. In other words, police will not be allowed to pull over a driver simply because of a cellphone violation. The officer must identify another infraction first, such as speeding or swerving, before stopping a driver.

The amendment also made texting while driving, previously a primary offense, a secondary offense. This would make Pennsylvania one of just six states to treat texting as a secondary offense.

The Legislature effectively neutered the cellphone ban at the 11th hour, making it largely unenforceable and meaningless.

Why?

State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, who sponsored the amendment that undercut the ban, claimed in debate that the law against texting while driving has been “ineffective and hard to enforce.”

Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving. More than 390,000 injuries occur annually from accidents caused by texting while driving, according to National Safety Council statistics. In fact, 1 out of every 4 accidents in the U.S. is caused by texting and driving. It is a serious safety issue, and rules that punish those caught in the act are important. Drivers must not feel that texting while driving is a minor indiscretion; it can end lives.

Similarly, hand-held cellphone use, which includes texting as well as talking on the phone, is a frequent cause of accidents, leading to more than 1.6 million crashes a year, according to the NSC.

State Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, also supports classifying hand-held phone use and texting while driving as secondary offenses, but his argument is a bit different. He argues that these laws could become fodder for unwarranted and biased police stops.

Racial bias is an issue that legislators and law enforcement must always confront. It is unacceptable. But bans on hand-held cellphone exist in 19 states and the District of Columbia; texting while driving is banned in 44 states and D.C. Available data does not currently suggest these laws have sparked a rise in biased stops. They have, however, led to increased roadway safety.

For instance, states saw 1,632 fewer traffic-related emergency room visits per year after implementing a texting ban, according to a 2019 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Accidents caused by distracted driving will continue, with or without a strict ban on hand-held cellphone use or texting while driving. But drivers must understand that there are consequences for engaging in these dangerous activities, which can threaten the safety of themselves and other drivers. The Legislature’s ban on cellphone use, as it was proposed originally, could have sent this message. But by removing the teeth from the state’s proposed ban, the Pennsylvania House has made it clear that it missed the point.