Pennsylvania General Assembly passes bill banning texting for all drivers

The National Safety Council congratulates the Pennsylvania General Assembly for passage of Senate Bill 314, which makes sending text messages while driving a violation for all drivers. The bill will become law with Gov. Tom Corbett's signature, and the law will go into effect 120 days after it is signed.

“I would like to congratulate the Pennsylvania General Assembly on overcoming partisan politics and being able to pass such a powerful law allowing Pennsylvania to catch up with its neighbors and the rest of the nation”

The passage of S.B. 314 comes on the heels of another piece of important safety legislation - House Bill 9 - that Pennsylvania legislators passed on Oct. 25 that implements new restrictions for teen drivers.

NSC estimates 12 lives will be saved each year in Pennsylvania and about 1,200 injuries requiring medical attention will be prevented because of S.B. 314. Pennsylvania is the 35th state to ban texting for all drivers.

The passage of these laws is particularly rewarding for people like Jacy Good, who lost both of her parents and sustained life-altering injuries as the result of a three-car crash involving a distracted driver. Jacy now spends a significant amount of her time advocating for stricter distracted driving laws and speaking out against the dangers of cell phone use behind the wheel. The U.S. Department of Transportation told Jacy's story as part of its video series, "Faces of Distracted Driving," on YouTube.

"I would like to congratulate the Pennsylvania General Assembly on overcoming partisan politics and being able to pass such a powerful law allowing Pennsylvania to catch up with its neighbors and the rest of the nation," said Good who is a board member of the nonprofit organization FocusDriven - Advocates for Cell-Free Driving.

"I think this law will save lives, reduce injuries and prevent more Pennsylvanians from going through the sort of tragedy to which I was subjected as the result of another driver using a cell phone."