Your Phone Behind The Wheel
75 Pa.C.S. 3316.1 — no handheld device while driving, and a $50 fine
In Pennsylvania, no driver may use an interactive mobile device while driving a motor vehicle, except to reach law enforcement or emergency services to prevent injury to people or property. Driving includes being temporarily stopped in traffic or at a light, but not pulling off the road to a place where the vehicle can safely remain stopped.
- Holding a device with at least one hand, or supporting it with another part of the body, is using it.
- Dialing or answering by pressing more than a single button is using it.
- Reaching for it so that the driver is no longer seated and belted in the driving position is using it.
A violation is a summary offense with a fine of $50, and for the first 12 months after the rule took effect a driver could only be given a written warning. Sending, reading or writing a text while the vehicle is moving is separately a summary offense with a fine of $50, but a driver is not charged under both for the same act.
Neither section authorizes seizing the device. Both preempt local ordinances on drivers' devices.
Sources for this section (2)
- 75 Pa.C.S. 3316.1 — Prohibiting use of interactive mobile device
- 75 Pa.C.S. 3316 — Prohibiting text-based communications
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.