Governor Corbett passes new law against text messaging while driving

Governor Tom Corbett passed a law against text messaging while driving on Wednesday.

The ban passed through Pennsylvania's General Assembly on Nov. 1, winning by a 45-5 vote.

The new law makes it illegal for a person to text message from behind the wheel of a moving car.

Doing so is now a primary offense, which means that police can pull over motorists for that violation alone.

There is a $50 fine accompanied with the offense, but police officers are not allowed to take any cell phones away from the motorist.

A provision was stripped from the bill that would also punish drivers for talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device, so it remains legal for Pa. motorists to talk on their phone while driving.

According to the Environmental Health and Saftey leaders magazine, the EHS Today, Pennsylvania is the 35th state to impose a texting-while-driving ban for all drivers.

Dr. Patrick Harvey, chair of the criminology department at Slippery Rock University, suggests that it could just be adding extra stress to law enforcement officers.

"My first concern is that we may be adding additional demands to an already difficult occupation," Harvey said.

Harvey also commented on the insights of his students and how he believes they ‘hit the nail on the head'.

"Criminology major or not, all of my students have realized that this law is going to be tough to enforce, and is probably not going to deter anyone from [text messaging while driving] if they are already comfortable with it," he said.

According to Harvey, he considers the law to be a ‘feel-good law.'

"Reckless driving has been against the law forever, it isn't anything new," he said. "People want to feel safe, and politicians like to see their names on new laws."

Harvey said that time can only tell how much effect the law will have.

"From a research standpoint, it is going to take time to be able to analyze the actual effect the law has in Pa.," he said. "Is it going to do what people hope?"

It is believed that cell phone use is one of the worst examples of distracted driving, especially for young adults.

According to a study by Carnegie Mellon University, driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.

Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

SRU students had varying reactions at the thought of a texting-while-driving ban.

Junior computer science major Daniel Jaworski doesn't think that police will enforce the law thoroughly.

"I don't see them actually pulling over people for texting," Jaworski said. "I think it will just be a fine they tack on if you need to be pulled over for something more serious."

Andrea Love, sophomore accounting major, has mixed feelings.

"I think it is a good thing because it prevents accidents," Love said. "But there are still other distractions that can cause accidents."

Junior elementary education major Anne Castello doesn't think the law will be stringently followed.

"I think people will still do it," Castello said. "People still text and drive, even with touch screens, which complicated the issue in the first place."