For Immediate Release
April 28, 2009
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Panel Approves Tomlinson Bill To Ban Texting While Driving 

Harrisburg -- The Senate Transportation Committee today unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Senator Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks) that would make it illegal for motorists to text while driving.    

Senate Bill 143 would make texting while driving a secondary offense if a motorist has been cited for another violation and would carry a fine of $100.  Pennsylvania would join 10 other states that have prohibited texting while driving for all classes of drivers.  Eight more states prohibit texting by novice drivers or certain specialized driving classifications.   

"There is only one thing a driver should be doing behind the wheel of an automobile, and that is paying attention to the road and other drivers," Tomlinson said.  "Text-distraction doesn’t just jeopardize the lives of those texting, but also puts the lives of everyone on the road with them at risk."

Tomlinson said that texting is becoming far more common, particularly among young drivers.  Roughly 158 billion mobile text messages were sent in the U.S. last year, up almost two-fold from 2005, according to a New York Times report.  

An estimated 20 percent of drivers are sending or receiving text messages while behind the wheel, according to a Nationwide Insurance study. According to another poll, that number skyrockets to 66 percent when drivers age 18 to 24 are involved. The practice, especially popular among young people, has resulted in deadly accidents.

"Accidents are occurring more and more as people attempt to text on their phones or type and answer messages on handheld electronic devices," Tomlinson said.  "Nobody can argue with the fact that texting is distracting, dangerous and potentially deadly." 

Senate Bill 143 now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Contact:

Megan Crompton
(717) 787-5072