In the eight years since her son was killed by a distracted truck driver, a mother in Scranton, Pennsylvania has become a tireless fighter for stricter highway laws on texting and driving. 

In mid-April 2018, the mother spoke before the state House Transportation Committee in favor of abill that would ban the use of all cell phones by Pennsylvania drivers. Texting and driving has been illegal in the state since 2012.

The mother told the media she was doing it not just in memory of her son, but for all the people in the state whose lives will be saved if the bill becomes state law.

It was on July 5, 2010 when her sone was driving home from a university in the state when a big rig veered across Route 33 in Monroe County and slammed into his car hed on. The trucker was determined to have been reaching for his phone when the crash happened. He later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

House Bill 1684 would ban drivers from using hand held electronic devices while the vehicle is moving. Those under 18 would be barred from using any type of phone while driving, including hands free.

The problem with distracted driving from cell phones is a serious one. The NHTSA reports that 660,000 people per day use cellphones while driving. This creates a huge potential for distracted driving accidents. In 2015, 3477 people died and 391,000 were injured in distracted driving accidents.

If the bill is made law, it would bring Pennsylvania into line with other states, in the northeast, including NY, NJ, MD and WV that all ban drivers from using handheld cell phones.

Our View

Our personal injury attorneys are sorry that so many people are killed and injured by texting and driving every year. Most of these deaths are completely preventable. We hope that Pennsylvania soon passes this needed law so that fewer lives are lost to distracted driving.

At this time, 15 states prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while they are driving. Anything that can be done to reduce this menace on our roads, our Virginia personal injury lawyers support.

Anyone who is injured or loses a loved one to distracted driving, such as with a cell phone, has the option to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. You could be entitled to compensation for your injuries and losses. It is something to keep in mind if another driver is negligent and texts or otherwise using a cell phone behind the wheel.