It’s now been one year since PA banned texting and driving. So the question is whether it is making a difference?
To answer that question, it is making a difference, but it’s not a huge difference.
“It’s completely dangerous because you can’t pay attention to what you are doing,” Stuart Wilson believes. “There are too many people out here who don’t know what they’re doing when driving, anyway.”
Texting while driving has now been illegal in Pennsylvania for one year. Since it was banned on March 8, state figures show 1,302 texting while driving citations were issued in the Commonwealth.
Forty percent of them were in Philadelphia area. In the mid-state, York County had the most with 65, followed by Dauphin, Perry and Cumberland Counties which combined for 53. Lancaster County had 17.
“I think it makes people think, anyway,” Nevin Stoltzfus added. “And if that avoids one accident, then I guess it’s worth it.”
Since the law, there have been just a few fewer fatalities in the state cause by distracted driving. In 2011, there were 59. Last year, 57 people died.
“If you think about the importance of texts that are coming in, is it worth taking that chance to have an accident or cause an accident for someone else who is receiving that message?” questioned Nessa Barge. “How important is that?”
Texting while driving is said to increase your chances of getting into a crash by 23 times. It carries a $50 fine.
