Texting and Mobile-Device Tickets in Pennsylvania

What the offense actually is.

Section 3316, 'Prohibiting text-based communications,' bars a driver from using an interactive mobile device to send, read, or write a text-based communication while the vehicle is in motion on a highway or trafficway. The statute is specific to text-based communication — the law expressly says that reading, selecting, or entering a phone number or name to activate or deactivate a voice call is not covered by this prohibition, which is why a simple hands-on dialing action doesn't automatically violate § 3316.

Section 3316.1, commonly referred to as Paul Miller's Law, is a separate and broader statute that prohibits using an interactive mobile device at all while driving, not just for text-based communication. Because it was enacted later and covers more conduct, an officer choosing between the two sections is making a real decision about how much conduct is actually being charged, and the two statutes are not meant to stack.

Both sections share an emergency-use exception: a driver may use a device to contact police, a hospital, a fire department, or other emergency services under subsection (b) of each statute. Neither section authorizes the seizure or forfeiture of the device itself, so an officer has no legal basis to confiscate a phone as part of either citation, and § 3316.1(d) preempts local municipalities from writing their own conflicting device ordinances.

Section 3316.1(g) provides that, for the first twelve months after that subsection took effect, a violation may only result in a written warning rather than a citation with a fine. Whether that warning-only window applies to a given stop depends on the date of the stop relative to that effective period, which is worth confirming rather than assuming either way. Section 3316.1(g) also directs PennDOT to distribute law-enforcement materials on device detection.

What a conviction costs.

Because neither § 3316 nor § 3316.1 is listed in PennDOT's § 1535 point schedule, a conviction under either one does not by itself add points or trigger a suspension. The exposure is largely limited to the $50 fine plus court costs. That said, a phone-use citation is frequently paired with, or used as evidence supporting, a careless driving charge under § 3714 when the phone use contributed to an unsafe maneuver, a near-miss, or a crash — and § 3714 does carry points and materially higher stakes.

Both statutes contain an anti-stacking provision — § 3316(d.1) and § 3316.1(h) — that bars charging both sections concurrently for conduct at the same time and place. If a citation or complaint lists both § 3316 and § 3316.1 for a single incident, that overlap is itself a basis to challenge one of the charges, and it is worth flagging before any plea is entered.

For the full point schedule and suspension thresholds, see the PA license points & suspension guide. If a magisterial district judge has already found you guilty, you have 30 days to file a summary appeal for a new trial at the Court of Common Pleas.