Nov. 8, 2011—The National Safety Council (NSC) on Tuesday announced the Pennsylvania General Assembly recently passed Senate Bill 314, which makes text messaging while driving illegal for all drivers.
The bill will become law with Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature, and will go into effect 120 days after it is signed. Pennsylvania is the 35th state to ban texting for all drivers, according to the NSC.
The NSC estimates 12 lives will be saved each year in Pennsylvania, and roughly 1,200 injuries requiring medical attention will be prevented as a result of S.B. 314.
“I would like to congratulate the Pennsylvania General Assembly on overcoming partisan politics and being able to pass such a powerful law allowing Pennsylvania to catch up with its neighbors and the rest of the nation,” said Jacy Good, board member of the nonprofit organization FocusDriven—Advocates for Cell-Free Driving, and who lost both of her parents and sustained life-altering injuries as the result of a three-car crash involving a distracted driver. “This law will save lives, reduce injuries and prevent more Pennsylvanians from going through the sort of tragedy to which I was subjected as the result of another driver using a cell phone.”
The NSC is a nonprofit organization with a mission of preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy.
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