Apr 13, 2024 3 min read

Imagine it’s morning rush hour and you’re at a stop light. Your child is strapped into the back seat and you are driving her to day care.

You look in the mirror and see a woman who is putting on makeup and looking down at what is probably a screen. OK, that’s multitasking, but you assume she is going to have her makeup set and keep her eyes on the road once the light turns green.

Once you get going, the driver follows close behind, seeming to be just inches off your bumper. To make matters worse, she still seems enchanted by what is on the screen, only occasionally glancing to see what’s on the road. Feeling that the back end of your car – and, more importantly, your daughter’s safety – are hanging in the balance, you heave a sigh of relief and feel your blood pressure inching back down when this miscreant finally turns left and gets off your tail.

Granted, that’s an extreme example, but there are plenty of people out there like that driver, who seem to believe their commute is a time to finish breakfast, catch up on work emails, answer text messages, watch videos, play games or shop. We have plenty of ways to get distracted nowadays, and many of us can’t resist indulging in those distractions when we are behind the wheel.

And this is not harmless. Far from it, in fact.

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is “a deadly epidemic on our roads.” The agency estimates that nine people are killed every day as a result of distracted driving and more than 1,000 are injured. In 2021, more than 3,000 deaths on American roads could be attributed to distracted driving.

Certainly many distracted driving mishaps are the result of people talking on cellphones. This week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took the long overdue step of expanding laws that prohibit texting while driving to include talking on a handheld phone. Violating the law would be a summary offense subject to a $50 fine. The Pennsylvania Senate has already passed a similar measure and, presuming it is signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth will become the 27th state to ban the use of handheld devices while driving. In fact, the 26 states that have already outlawed using a handheld device while driving include all the states that border Pennsylvania.

“It’s Pennsylvania’s turn,” according to state Rep. Ed Neilson, a Philadelphia Democrat who leads the House Transportation Committee. “Drivers need to put down the phone and keep their eyes on the road.”

Opponents to the law have argued that hands-free technology might be out of reach for some drivers. Yes, but those drivers should pull over and take a call if it’s absolutely urgent, or simply wait until they make it to their destination. Drivers who simply can’t resist glancing at a text or calling somebody should stash their phone in a glove box or their trunk while they are driving.

Look at it this way: We endured for decades when we had to find a payphone to make a call. It’s not too much of an inconvenience to wait just a few minutes to call someone back while you are piloting a vehicle that weighs 4,000 pounds and is traveling at a high rate of speed.