| Paul Miller’s Law: Pennsylvania’s New Hands-Free Driving Law
Pennsylvania drivers are now prohibited from using hand-held mobile devices while behind the wheel under Paul Miller’s Law. The law is intended to reduce distracted-driving crashes and protect motorists, pedestrians, emergency responders, and everyone else who depends on safe roadways.
What Does the Law Prohibit?
Paul Miller’s Law makes it a primary offense to use a hand-held mobile device while driving. This means a police officer may stop a driver solely for violating the law.
Prohibited actions include:
Holding or supporting a phone or other mobile device with any part of the body
Texting, emailing, browsing social media, or using the internet
Watching, recording, or broadcasting videos
Dialing or answering a phone by pressing more than one button
Reaching for a device in a way that causes the driver to move out of the normal seated and seat-belted driving position
The restriction also applies while temporarily stopped at a red light, stop sign, in traffic, or during another momentary delay. Simply putting the vehicle in park while waiting at a traffic light does not make hand-held phone use legal.
What Is Still Permitted?
Drivers may continue to use hands-free technology for telephone calls, navigation, music, and other functions. A phone mounted in the vehicle may generally be operated through voice commands or a single-button action.
Drivers may also use a mobile device to contact law enforcement or emergency services when necessary to prevent injury or property damage.
Anyone who needs to hold or manually operate a phone should first pull safely to the side of or off the roadway and stop in a location where the vehicle can remain safely parked.
Penalties Are Now in Effect
The law became effective on June 5, 2025, with written warnings issued during its first year. Beginning June 5, 2026, a violation became a summary offense carrying a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees.
The consequences can be far more serious when distracted driving causes a crash. A driver convicted of homicide by vehicle while driving distracted may face an additional prison sentence of up to five years.
Who Was Paul Miller?
The law is named in memory of Paul Miller Jr., who was killed in a 2010 crash in Monroe County. A distracted driver crossed the center divider and struck Paul’s vehicle head-on. Following his death, Paul’s mother, Eileen Miller, became a leading advocate for stronger distracted-driving laws.
Paul’s story is a reminder that looking away from the roadway—even briefly—can permanently change many lives.
A Message from East Brandywine Fire Company
Our firefighters and emergency medical personnel regularly respond to motor-vehicle crashes and see firsthand the devastating consequences that can result from distracted driving. These incidents affect not only the people directly involved, but also their families, responding emergency personnel, and the entire community.
Distracted drivers also place firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, highway workers, and disabled motorists at risk while they are working along the roadway.
Before beginning your trip, enter your destination, select your music, and place your phone where you will not be tempted to pick it up. If something requires your attention, pull over safely.
No call, text, notification, or social-media post is worth a life.
Put the phone down. Keep your attention on the roadway. Help us make every trip—and every emergency scene—safer.
Additional information is available from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. |
