Category Archives: PennDOT News

Community Outreach, Highway Safety, PennDOT News, Safe Driving Tips

New Law Enforces Traffic Control Signs

A new state law imposing stiff penalties on motorists who ignore “Road Closed” or other safety warning signs and devices is now in effect.

Act 114, signed on July 5 by Governor Tom Corbett, reinforces the critical need for all drivers to obey traffic control signs. The law aims to increase safety for motorists and emergency responders in areas where flooding or other hazardous conditions exist.

“Too often, motorists decide their immediate needs outweigh the safety warning signs and they ignore them, which increases hazards for them and emergency responders,” said  PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch. “This law underscores that we take safety seriously. When motorists are confronted with emergency road closures, we urge them to use common sense and obey the signs that are placed to keep them safe.”

Under the law, motorists who drive around or through signs or traffic control devices closing a road or highway due to hazardous conditions will have two points added to their driving records and be fined up to $250.

If the violation results in a need for emergency responders to be called, the fine is increased to between $250 and $500. In addition, violators will be held liable for repaying the costs of staging the emergency response.

What do you think about this new law?

Highway Safety, PennDOT News, Teens

It’s Official: Texting Is Illegal

We’ve all seen that person in traffic texting away while driving, eyes down to their lap, working the wheel with their forearms or knees, blissfully unaware of their surroundings and the danger they themselves have become to everyone around them.

Effective March 8, 2012, it is illegal to send, read or write a text message while driving in PA.  Here are the details:

  • PRIMARY OFFENSE: Police can pull you over if they suspect you of texting while driving.
  • ALL IWCDs: The law includes smart phones, cell phones, tablets…anything wireless that can send/receive text messages.
  • INCLUDES EMAIL: So don’t read those while moving either.
  • APPLIES TO ALL DRIVERS: not just commercial operators.

It’s a $50 fine each time you get caught texting, which is a lesser penalty than living with the guilt if your distraction kills someone.  If you know someone who texts regularly while driving, pass this on to them.

Highway Safety, PennDOT News

PA Driving Laws Get Graded

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, an alliance between consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies, recently released their 2012 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws.  This report grades each state on its performance in adopting critical highway safety laws.  How did Pennsylvania fare?

Each state earns a ranking based upon their commitment to improving laws in critical areas, as follows:

  • GREEN: Good
  • YELLOW: Caution (Needs Improvement)
  • RED: state falls dangerously behind

In 2011, Pennsylvania advanced from RED to YELLOW status because of the passenger restriction element of its new teen driver law and its new text message restriction on all drivers.

By comparison, most of our neighboring states perform much better – New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia all have the highest rating, while Ohio and Virginia still rank in the red.  Check out the full report here.

PennDOT News

PA Driver’s License Gets Security Upgrade

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today deployed a new security hologram that makes it easier to spot fake drivers’ licenses and identification cards. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to use this enhanced security feature.

“A driver’s license or identification card has always been a trusted source for establishing a person’s true identity,” said PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch. “We are steadfast in our resolve to combat counterfeit forms of identification, which ultimately jeopardize lives and hold great potential for harm to our national security.”

The new hologram suppresses the “rainbow” colors normally associated with holographic images. The result is a hologram that appears to switch between white and black as the image is moved. Also, because the new image is of a much higher resolution, it is clearly visible in bright, moderate and even low-light environments.

This state-of-the-art technology is added to an array of security features including a holographic overlay of county names and keystone outlines already embedded in current license and ID cards.

For more information and to see an example of the new security feature, visit PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website at www.dmv.state.pa.us and click on Identity/Security.