Enforcement of the law banning the use of hand-held phones while driving in Pennsylvania begins Thursday, ending a 13-year journey of compromises to end what may be the most dangerous distraction for drivers.
And even though police can stop drivers they see holding their cellphones – even at a red light – for the next year violators will only get a written warning. Next year, fines will start at $50
State Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe County, said that a yearlong education period was among the deals sponsors had to make with lawmakers over the years to get enough votes to pass the ban on using a hand-held cellphone while driving. Brown was a leading proponent of the ban for nearly 12 years, first as a state representative and later as a state senator when the bill was passed last year.
“We had to work on both sides of the aisle,” Brown recalled. “There was always an excuse why we couldn’t do it. It took a long time, but we worked through all of that.”
The law is known as Paul Miller’s Law, named for the 21-year-old who died in 2010 when a tractor-trailer driver reached for his cellphone and lost control of his rig. It crossed the median and struck Miller’s vehicle and a van with 12 people in it.
Miller’s mother, Eileen, made a pledge when she identified Paul’s body that she would make sure something good came from his death. She approached Brown to work with her after identifying her as another mother who would understand her pain.
Brown worked every session after that to develop a law that could win legislative approval. When she started, she said, only “a handful” of states banned driving while holding a cellphone, but last year Pennsylvania became the 29th state with a distracted driving law.
The compromises over the years included adding a minimum six-month educational period, expanding training for new drivers to include distracted driving and requiring police to record the race of every driver they stop. That last one was needed to gain support of the Black Legislative Caucus, which feared police would use the cellphone ban as an opportunity to improperly harass minority drivers.
Even with those changes and assurances, it’s taken state officials a year to do all the administrative work to allow enforcement with a warning to begin.
Police say they are ready to begin enforcement, starting with warnings for the first year as a primary offense, meaning police don’t need any other reason to stop a driver. Drivers will not be allowed to hold their cellphone while the vehicle is on the road, even at a traffic light.
With the warning, drivers will receive a card featuring Paul Miller’s face, a photo of his fatal crash scene and details of the new law.
“The law allows officers to pull over drivers if they see them with a phone,” said Myles Snyder, communications director for Pennsylvania State Police. “People holding a mobile device will be violating the law.”
Starting in June 2026, police can issue a citation for $50 plus court fees that double the cost, and drivers on the phone during a fatal crash will face up to five years in jail, longer if it occurred in a work zone.
Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Emily Bourne said in a statement the city is ready to enforce the new law.
“The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police will enforce the new hand-held cellphone law according to its definition: If officers observe a driver utilizing a hand-held cellphone, they can stop a vehicle and issue a warning until June 5, 2026 …” she said. “Specifically, for Pittsburgh police, there will not be targeted enforcement for violations of this statute. However, this new law is an opportunity for officers to address its intended purpose of reducing dangerous and hazardous driving, and, ultimately, deterring collisions caused by distracted driving.”
Brown said she believes the new law will change the behavior of drivers. Her encouragement comes from the state’s experience with stepped-up enforcement of speeding violations in work zones, where the rate of drivers cited for the second time has been extremely low.
“It does seem to work,” she said. “You just have to be responsible when you’re behind the wheel.”
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.