Pennsylvania drivers can now be ticketed at red lights for this phone habit

✅Pennsylvania begins issuing penalties Friday for cell phone use

✅Drivers can be ticketed for holding a phone behind the wheel

✅ The law also bans handheld phone use while stopped at red lights or stop signs.

After a year's grace period, penalties for Pennsylvania's new cell phone law go into effect for real on Friday.

Drivers can now be stopped and ticketed for sending, reading or writing a text while holding a phone behind the wheel. Drivers can still use their phones hands-free or to make an emergency call.

The new law carries a $50 fine with no points.

The new law, known as Paul Miller's Law, was signed in 2024. After a year-long grace period, drivers can now be stopped and ticketed for sending, reading or writing a text while holding a phone behind the wheel. Drivers can still use their phones hands-free or to make an emergency call.

The new law carries a $50 fine with no points. Court costs and other fees can also be assessed.

PennDOT message about Paul Miller's Law

One key similarity New Jersey's cell phone law

A similarity between Pennsylvania's law and other states, including New Jersey, is the prohibition on use during a temporary stop, like at a red light or stop sign.

Paul Miller Jr., died at the age of 21 in 2010 in a crash with the distracted driver of a tractor-trailer. His parents, Paul and Eileen Miller, pushed the legislation in his memory.

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