A fairly recent post discussed proposed legislation that was set to go before the Pennsylvania House and Senate. The bill sought to ban texting and driving; drivers caught doing so would be ticketed for a traffic violation.

There had been a similar bill that the state's Senate had already approved earlier this year. However over the past few months, several changes have been made to address two main issues: texting while driving and talking on the phone while driving. Just this week, both the House and Senate passed the bill; the last step is for the governor to sign it.

Concern over texting and driving has been on the forefront of legislators' minds because of the increasing number of distracted driving accidents. Supporters of the bill believe that this legislation can help reduce the number of distracted drivers who are using their cell phone while behind the wheel.

But does the bill properly address the issue of distracted driving? The bill makes both texting while driving and talking on the phone while driving a primary offense. This means that police officers can pull drivers over if the officer suspects the driver is doing one of those two things. However using a hands-free device to talk on the phone would not be a violation of the law.

One representative raised the concern that the bill is flawed. He argues that police might begin to profile drivers based on vague movements behind the wheel. For example, a driver may be trying to type in a phone number but a police officer may think the driver is texting.

If the bill is signed by the governor, police will hopefully have additional training to help them determine which drivers are violating the law.

Pennsylvania drivers should be aware that the penalty for texting and driving will cost them $50.

Source: York Dispatch: "Texting-while-driving ban heads to Gov. Corbett's desk," Lauren Whetzel, Nov. 2, 2011