STARTING JUNE 5, 2025 PENNSYLVANIA DRIVERS WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO DO WHAT THIS MAN IS DOING IN THE CAR. | PHOTO ADOBE STOCK

Paul Miller Jr. was just a month shy of his 22nd birthday when he was driving his Toyota Corolla on Route 33 in Hamilton Township in Northeastern Pennsylvania. A driver of a tractor-trailer coming from the opposite direction was looking at his cellphone and crossed the center line, striking Miller’s car head-on. Miller, a senior at East Stroudsburg University, was killed instantly.

That was in July 2010. Now, nearly 15 years later, Pennsylvania’s Distracted Driving Law — known as Paul Miller’s Law — takes effect on June 5.

The Pennsylvania law prohibits anyone from holding a phone or any other interactive device for any reason — texting, calling, scrolling or checking social media — while behind the wheel. This applies even when you’re stopped at a red light.

The ban does NOT include the use of a GPS device, a system or device that is physically or electronically integrated into the vehicle, or a communications device that is affixed to a mass transit vehicle, bus or school bus.

Because this is a primary offense, Police can stop a driver if they see a mobile device in their hand. There will be a 12-month grace period when drivers would receive a written warning. Effective June 5, 2026, the penalty is a summary offense with a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees. If a driver is convicted of homicide by vehicle and driving while distracted, they may be sentenced up to an additional five years in prison.

A driver may use a handheld device if the driver moves the vehicle onto the shoulder of a road or off a highway and is stopped. The hands-free law allows for an emergency-use exception if it is necessary to communicate with a law enforcement official or other emergency service to prevent injury to persons or property.

In 2023, there were 11,262 crashes involving a distracted driver in Pennsylvania, resulting in 65 fatalities and 409 suspected serious injuries, according to the state Department of Transportation. Thirty states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico already prohibit all drivers from using handheld cellphones while driving.

Since Miller’s death, his parents, Eileen and Paul Sr., have shared the story about their son and lobbied for a distracted driving law. The driver in the crash, Jaswinder Singh from a New Jersey trucking company, was charged with vehicular homicide after a two-year investigation. He pleaded guilty and served 17 months in prison.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Paul Miller’s Law on June 5, 2024, giving it a year to be enacted. State police and transportation officials have been ramping up awareness about the law since then and will continue to educate drivers during its first year of enactment.

At the time of the accident, Paul was studying sociology with a focus in criminal justice, hoping one day to become a police officer.

“Paul hoped to make a difference in the lives of young people who had slipped onto the wrong side of the law and was looking forward to beginning an internship with the Lackawanna County Juvenile Probation Office,” according to EndDD.org, an advocacy site that profiles victims of distracted driving.