Pennsylvania’s Paul Miller’s Law prohibits specified handheld interactive-device use while driving—including when you are stopped at a red light or caught in traffic. The restriction took effect June 5, 2025; after a one-year written-warning period, citations carrying a $50 fine plus court costs and fees began June 6, 2026. A separate part of the same law requires police to collect data on covered traffic stops, with a limited exception for qualifying local departments.
What Pennsylvania’s phone-use law prohibits
Paul Miller’s Law is Act 18 of 2024, signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro on June 5, 2024. It makes specified interactive mobile device use a primary offense, meaning an officer may stop a driver for that violation alone. PennDOT’s driver-safety guidance describes an interactive mobile device broadly: it includes handheld wireless telephones, smartphones, personal digital assistants, portable or mobile computers, and similar devices used for communications, internet access, gaming, images, video, social media, or electronic data.
The law covers conduct such as holding or supporting the device, pressing more than one button to dial or answer, or reaching for it in a way that requires leaving a seated, seat-belted driving position. It is broader than Pennsylvania’s earlier texting-while-driving rule, which bars sending, reading, or writing text-based communications while the vehicle is in motion.
A red light or traffic jam is still driving
For this law, driving includes operating a vehicle on a highway while temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic-control device such as a signal or stop sign, or another momentary delay. So being stopped at a red light does not, by itself, make handheld phone use lawful. The same applies while waiting in congestion.
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When warnings ended and fines began
The handheld-use restriction took effect June 5, 2025. For its first 12 months, officers could issue only a written warning under this section. PennDOT’s May 2026 announcement said citations could begin June 6, 2026; Pennsylvania State Police later described the warning period as ending June 5. The fine is $50, plus court costs and other fees. PennDOT’s enforcement announcement and PSP’s notice provide the dated details.
Pennsylvania State Police reported issuing 1,616 warnings during the period from June 5, 2025, through June 5, 2026. In a separate three-day Operation Hands Off initiative, June 8–10, 2026, PSP reported 694 Paul Miller’s Law citations and 308 related warnings. Those initiative figures cover PSP activity only, exclude other agencies, and may change as records are finalized.
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PennDOT also notes that a person convicted of homicide by vehicle while driving distracted may receive up to five additional years in prison. That is not an automatic added sentence for every phone-use violation; consequences depend on the circumstances and applicable convictions.
What drivers may still do
Hands-free calls, navigation, and audio
PennDOT describes hands-free technology for phone calls, GPS, and music as permitted. Set a destination or choose audio before moving, and use controls that do not require prohibited handling or reaching. A phone mount can help position a screen, but the mount itself does not make manual operation lawful.
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When you need to handle the device
PennDOT says a driver may use the device after moving to the side of or off the highway and stopping somewhere the vehicle can safely remain stationary. The law also provides an emergency exception when device use is necessary to communicate with law enforcement or another emergency service to prevent injury to people or property. A routine red-light stop is not the safe-roadside exception.
What police must record during traffic stops
Act 18 contains a separate traffic-stop data provision. It requires Pennsylvania State Police and local police officers to collect prescribed information for self-initiated traffic stops under the Vehicle Code, in a form and manner determined by PSP. The information includes details about the stop and searches, along with driver characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and gender. The text of Act 18 sets out the provision.
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A local department is excepted from that subsection’s requirement if it already collects the specified data, provides it to a third party for analysis, and makes the results publicly available. The law’s data collection and public-transparency purpose should not be confused with a finding about what the data shows: collection alone does not prove bias, or that bias has been eliminated. The governor’s announcement described annual public reporting, but a current statewide report publication status or first-report date is not established in the official material cited here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the crash figures do—and do not—show
PennDOT reported 9,950 distracted-driver crashes, more than 6,000 injuries, and 49 fatalities in 2024. For 2025, it reported 9,419 distracted-driver crashes, more than 5,500 injuries, and 54 fatalities. PennDOT cautions that distracted-driving crashes may be underreported because drivers can be reluctant to report distraction. These figures are agency-reported annual counts; they should not be treated as a controlled measure of the law’s effect.
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In its 2024 announcement, the governor’s office said Pennsylvania recorded more than 11,262 distracted-driving crashes in 2023 and described distracted driving as the leading cause of crashes in the state that year. The same release reported 1,209 motor-vehicle crash deaths in 2023 versus 1,179 in 2022, a 2.25% increase. Separately, PennDOT said in 2026 that driver behavior was a leading factor in 83% of fatal crashes annually; its grouped category includes distracted, impaired, aggressive, and other behavior, so that figure is not specific to phone distraction.
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