PennDOT announced that a new Pennsylvania law that prohibits drivers from using hand-held devices while driving will take effect June 5.

Known as the Distracted Driving Law and Paul Miller’s Law, the order defines “interactive mobile device” as needing at least one hand to hold. Penalties include a written warning for the first year, and as of June 5, 2026, a summary offense with a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees.

“If a driver is convicted of homicide by vehicle and driving while distracted, they may be sentenced up to an additional five years in prison,” PennDOT said.

Phones are permitted “if the driver moves the vehicle to the side of or off a highway and halts in a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.” The hands-free law allows for an emergency use exception if a driver needs to communicate with police or other emergency services to prevent injury.

A texting ban, which has existed since 2012, does not include the use of GPS, or a system or device that is physically or electronically integrated into the vehicle, PennDOT said. Otherwise, drivers are not permitted to send, read or write texts while the vehicle is in motion.

In April 2024, the House of Representatives voted 124-77 to approve an amended version of a Senate-passed bill.

Phones in School

In related news, Pennsylvania offered schools money this year to buy pouches that lock phones away for the whole school day, but the vast majority declined, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

Of 779 public school entities that applied for $100 million in available funding through the School Safety and Mental Health grant program this year, only 18 requested to use the money for phone pouches, according to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

In August 2024, Abington School District announced its decision to restrict cell phone usage for the 2024-2025 year.

Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fecher said the district’s elementary schools “will maintain a rule of no cellphones during the school day, and will address individual concerns as they arise in grades K-5.”

At the middle and high schools, the district issues “cellphone holders”.

As concern about kids’ attachment to cell phones grows, other states have increasingly moved toward similar measures. Pennsylvania has responded not by banning phones, but offering schools grant money to do so under a new pilot program, The Inquirer said.

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