Apr 11, 2026 3 min read

Imagine driving 55 miles per hour with your eyes closed for five seconds – the equivalent of the length of a football field.

Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?

Now, imagine reading or sending a text message while behind the wheel.

The five seconds spent looking at your cellphone and not the roadway carry the same potential for tragedy as driving a speeding car with your eyes shut, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And that is equally terrifying.

Not only that, it also happens to be illegal to use a phone or hand-held device while driving, per Paul Miller’s Law, enacted by the state Legislature in 2024. The law prohibits the use of cellphones and other hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped temporarily for traffic, a red light or other delays.

The law has been enforced on a limited basis during an initial warning period, but beginning June 5, police will stop writing warnings and start issuing traffic citations for $50 plus court costs and fees.

As Conner Goetz noted in Friday’s story detailing the enforcement, motorists are still permitted to use the devices to summon for help in emergencies, and hands-free technology to make calls, use a GPS and listen to music.

“Distracted driving is dangerous and significantly increases the risk of crashes,” Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner Lt. Col. George L. Bivens said. “Just a moment of inattention can lead to life-altering consequences.”

Just ask Paul Miller’s mother, who spent more than 10 years fighting for the legislation after her 21-year-old son died in a Monroe County crash caused by a distracted driver.

“My son died by something so preventable as distracted driving,” Eileen Woelkers Miller of Scranton told the Times Leader newspaper in 2023. “I really don’t want this to happen to anybody else. Every day the pain that you feel because of the loss of a child — I just don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”

According to data compiled by the state Department of Transportation, 574 accidents involving a distracted driver occurred in 2024 across District 12, which takes in Greene, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Four of those crashes were fatal.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts reports 9,782 distracted driving offenses occurred between 2021 and 2025. Of those, 126 citations were filed in Washington County; 91 in Fayette, and 41 in Greene.

“On July 5, 2010, in one second, our lives were tragically changed forever because of something so preventable,” Miller said. “Our handsome, beautiful son Paul Miller Jr. lost his life to a distracted driver. Life is full of choices — what will your choice be?”