According to police, Ronald Gorey of Bethel was reading the paper when he rear ended a car driven by Mark Shirk, also of Bethel, on January 25, 2012. The crash occurred on Route 183 at Solly Lane. Mr. Shirk and Mr. Gorey’s two passengers were reportedly injured in the crash and taken to the hospital where all three were treated and released.

We wish all of the injured a full and fast recovery from any Pennsylvania accident injuries.

female driver on a mobile phone from Crestock Creative Images

On November 9, after years of legislative negotiation and failed attempts to pass a distracted driving law, Governor Corbett signed a law that prohibits Pennsylvania drivers from texting and driving while a vehicle is moving.

As of March 8, 2012 the new Pennsylvania texting and driving law will be enforceable and drivers found to be texting and driving may be pulled over and fined. For purposes of the law, texting and driving is defined as reading, writing or sending a text based message or browsing the web on a wireless device.

The law makes texting and driving a primary offense and drivers may be pulled over even if they do not commit another offense. The cost of the fine is currently set at $50. However, motorists are urged to remember that the cost may be much higher if they cause an accident and hurt or kill someone because of their distracted driving.

female driver on a mobile phone from Crestock Creative Images

On Wednesday September 28 the Pennsylvania House of Representatives sent an important bill to Governor Corbett.  The bill would add several restrictions to new teen drivers in an effort to help reduce the number of Pennsylvania teen car accidents.  Specifically, the new law would:

• Limit teens with junior licenses to one teen passenger at a time for the first six months after getting a license and to three teen passengers at a time after six months.
• Increase on the road driving hours from 50 to 65 before a teen with a driver’s permit could take the licensing test.
• Make it a primary offense for people under age 18 not to have a seatbelt or age appropriate car seat.

The bill overwhelmingly passed the House, though some critics would’ve liked to have included cell phone restrictions in the bill before sending it to the Governor.  What do you think?  Does this bill go far enough and will it help protect Pennsylvania teens?

female driver on a mobile phone from Crestock Creative Images

Earlier this spring, a Lehigh County judge overturned Allentown’s ordinance regarding using cell phones and driving.  The judge, in a move that was widely expected, relied on a state law that provides that all motor vehicle provisions must be uniform throughout the state. 

Bethlehem, realizing that a distracted driving ordinance enacted by one municipality is in violation of that law, has decided to stop enforcing an ordinance similar to the one in Allentown.

The responsibility to pass a distracted driving law now clearly rests with the state, but will the state do what it can to prevent future distracted driving accidents or will Pennsylvania go another legislative session without passing this important piece of legislation?

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

• Speeding (32,669 crashes including 538 fatal crashes)
• Distracted Driving (12,390 crashes including 57 fatal crashes)
• Improper Turning (11,766 crashes including 52 fatal crashes)
• Drunk Driving (10,871 crashes including 215 fatal crashes)
• Proceeding Without Clearance (7,517 crashes including 44 fatal crashes)
• Tailgating (4,746 crashes including 21 fatal crashes)
• Careless or Illegal Passing (3,733 crashes including 70 fatal crashes)
• Drowsy Drivers (2,181 crashes including 13 fatal crashes)

It is important to note that distracted driving caused more accidents than drunk driving and is second only to speeding as a driver error cause of accident.

If you have been hurt by a driver error in Pennsylvania, please contact a Pennsylvania car accident lawyer for more information about your rights.

*Source: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: 2009 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics

 A bill to combat distracted driving is once again before the Pennsylvania legislature.  However, this 2011 bill is not the same as the bill presented by Representative Markosek, and defeated by the House, in 2010.  The 2011 Pennsylvania distracted driving bill introduced by Representative Markosek makes driving while using a handheld cell phone a secondary offense – not a primary offense like it was in the 2010 bill.

If this bill becomes law in Pennsylvania, a police officer would not be able to pull over and ticket a driver for using a cell phone unless the driver was being pulled over for a primary driving offense such as speeding or running a red light.

Pennsylvania is currently one of only nine states without any kind of law against using a cell phone while driving.  Lawmakers have introduced this bill in the hopes that it will be easier to pass than the 2010 bill. However, will a law that makes using a cell phone while driving a secondary offense have any kind of effect?

Other bills have been introduced by other state representatives that would make using a cell phone while driving a primary offense and that specifically address the problem of texting and driving.

 Our Pennsylvania accident lawyers will continue to monitor the different bills and report on any new legislation.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, distracted driving is responsible for thousands of accidents every year and many injuries and fatalities.    More than half of the states currently have statewide laws prohibited texting while driving, cell phone use while driving, or both.  Pennsylvania does not have such a law.

Several municipalities have enacted local ordinances.  In addition to Bensalem, bans are currently in place in Allentown, Philadelphia, Erie and Harrisburg.  There is some concern that these laws may be challenged and found to be preempted by the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code.

Do you think Pennsylvania has done enough to prevent distracted driving accidents?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

Last week John Luciew wrote an interesting piece in The Patriot News.  The article about distracted driving raised a lot of interesting points and statistics.  However, there was one important point of Mr. Luciew’s article that is not commonly discussed and that I believe is important.

Specifically, I was struck by Mr. Luciew’s interview of a driving school teacher.  In that interview, the driving school teacher discusses the lack of basic driving knowledge among today’s teenagers. 

Why do today’s driver’s education students lack the knowledge of previous generations?  The article suggests that it is because of technology.  Not only are teens distracted when they get behind the wheel, they’ve been distracted passengers for many years before applying for a license. 

Today’s teenagers have been watching TV in the back of minivans, playing on their game systems in the middle of their SUVs and texting their friends from the front seat of their sedans.  They have not been paying attention to their parents driving habits.  They have not been paying attention to the road.

Don’t let a distracted passenger become a distracted driver.  Talk to your child about safe driving and about the rules of the road.  Encourage your child to watch your safe driving habits.  You will be glad that you did.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), AAA and Seventeen Magazine have teamed up to create a video contest that will end this Friday.  The National Two-Second Turnoff Day Viral Video Challenge, which runs from August 2 – September 10, 2010, is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving among young drivers.

 If you are a teenager who would like to participate, you need to create a video to combat distracted driving and upload it to www.seventeen.com/twosecond. The winner’s video will be shared at the DOT’s second annual distracted driving summit on September 21, and be featured on websites for Seventeen Magazine, AAA and the DOT.  The winner will also receive a $2,000 cash prize.

 This contest is meant to be a fun way to combat a serious problem.  In addition to the contest prizes described above, teenagers are provided with a real and meaningful way to learn about the dangers of distracted driving and to save lives.

The dangers of texting and driving are often reported in the news – and with good reason.  Texting and driving is dangerous.  It causes serious injuries and fatalities every year. 

When we consider the problem of texting and driving, many of us think of teenagers who can’t stop using their phones long enough to drive safely.  However, teens are only part of the problem.

According to a new study released last week by the The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project adults are just as likely to text and drive as teens.  The study found that among adults who use text messaging, 47% of them do so while driving.  A similar study found that only 34% of teenagers who text message admit to texting and driving.  Since the percentage of adults who text is smaller than the number of teens who text, the study found that approximately 27% of adults and 26% of teens text and drive.

It is important that the dangers of distracted driving be conveyed to adults and teens alike so that more accidents can be prevented and more lives can be saved.