{"id":177008,"date":"2026-04-27T04:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T04:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/177008\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T04:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T04:15:07","slug":"fine-for-holding-cell-phone-while-driving-starts-june-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/177008\/","title":{"rendered":"Fine for holding cell phone while driving starts June 5"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Eileen Miller ends all her phone calls with a variation of \u201cHave a safe day.\u201d The Scranton mother lobbied for a safety law that goes into effect June 5 and bans holding a mobile device behind the wheel.<\/p>\n<p>The Pennsylvania law named for her son carries a $50 fine, plus court costs and other fees. Fines are starting after a year of law enforcement issuing warnings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very emotional,\u201d Miller said. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that it took 12 years to get common-sense legislation, but I\u2019m absolutely thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paul Miller\u2019s Law goes beyond other Pennsylvania laws that ban texting while driving. Just holding, physically propping up a phone, or maneuvering out of the driver\u2019s seat to reach for a phone triggers the law.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" alt=\"Eileen Miller of Scranton shows a tattoo in memory of her son after speaking during a media event held Monday, Nov. 24, 2025 at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton to warn the public of the dangers of impaired and distracted driving, especially during upcoming holidays marked by celebrations and festivities. Her son, Paul Miller Jr., was killed at age 21 in a crash in 2010 in Monroe County, where his vehicle was struck by a tractor trailer when the truck driver reached for a cell phone while behind the wheel. After her son's death, Miller became a national advocate for stronger laws to reduce distracted driving. Her efforts resulted in a law in Pennsylvania named for her son, &quot;Paul Miller's Law,&quot; that was enacted on June 5, 2024 and that took effect June 5, 2025. This law prohibits the use of hand-held devices while driving, even while stopped temporarily due to traffic, a red light or other momentary delay. (JIM LOCKWOOD \/ STAFF PHOTO)\" width=\"3024\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/STT-L-DRIVING-1125_3-rotated-1.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1299852\" \/>Eileen Miller of Scranton shows a tattoo in memory of her son after speaking during a media event held Monday, Nov. 24, 2025 at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton to warn the public of the dangers of impaired and distracted driving. (JIM LOCKWOOD \/ STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n<p>The law applies even when a vehicle stops temporarily at a red light or in traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Drivers can still use their phones to alert authorities in an emergency and use hands-free technology to make phone calls, use GPS and listen to music.<\/p>\n<p>Paul Miller Jr. was 21 years old when he was killed in a 2010 crash in Monroe County. A tractor-trailer driver reached for a phone, lost control and crashed head-on into Miller\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Several people in another vehicle were injured.<\/p>\n<p>Hand-held cellphone use falls into the category of distracted driving, which the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says caused 49 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries in 9,950 crashes in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The true numbers are probably higher because many drivers are hesitant to admit to being distracted, according to a PennDOT media release.<\/p>\n<p>PennDOT suggests several ways to fight the urge to pick up a phone: Pull over to a safe spot and park to text, put the phone completely out of reach, turn on the \u201cdo not disturb\u201d setting or put a passenger in charge of the phone.<\/p>\n<p>MONDAY UPDATE<\/p>\n<p>THEN: Scranton mother Eileen Miller lobbied to strengthen state laws restricting mobile device use by drivers.<\/p>\n<p>NOW: Starting June 5, Pennsylvania drivers can be pulled over and fined $50, plus court costs and fees, if holding a cellphone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eileen Miller ends all her phone calls with a variation of \u201cHave a safe day.\u201d The Scranton mother&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,139,28,29,178,180,179,2155],"class_list":["post-177008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-transportation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}