HARRISBURG, Pa. This bill was passed by the Pennsylvania State House. People who support it say that it will make the roads better by telling drivers to put down their cell phones.
When Eileen Miller lost her son Paul in 2010 because a truck driver was on his phone, she called herself “a mom with a mission.”
I told my son in a whisper at the morgue that I knew what caused the crash when I saw him. “I would make changes when I found out,” she said.
This change is called Paul Miller’s Law, and it would make it a main offense for drivers to use their phones while driving. Things like checking email and playing games while driving would be covered by that.
“People are getting into more car accidents because they are distracted than because they are drunk,” said Transportation Committee chair Stat Rep. Ed Neilson. “The change we’re thinking about is making sure drivers put down their phones.” Because technically speaking, you can watch a movie while driving down the street right now.
Police would have to write down who they stop and why under this bill. It would be possible to get that info.
“Distracted driving is a problem,” agrees Liz Randol, who is the Pennsylvania Legislative Director for the ACLU. “But we really don’t think this is the right way to handle it.”
Conservatives fear that the bill will give police more power to stop people based on what they think they saw.
Randyl thinks that the bill would “give police officers more justification to make stops that could turn violent or deadly.”
Miller, the mom on a mission, knows all too well how dangerous situations can get.
“Turn off your phones while you’re driving,” I tell everyone. Nothing else matters after losing a child. It’s not that important.”
That’s where the bill needs to go before it could end up on Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk. There is no clear date for when the State Senate will look over the bill.
