SOURCE: AAA Atlantic RegionrnrnPHILADELPHIA LEADS STATE FOR TEXTING CITATIONS IN FIRST YEAR OF LAW – AAA ANALYSIS OF NEWLY RELEASED DATArnPHILADELPHIA, PA (March 11, 2013) –Philadelphia tops the leaderboard for texting while driving citations, according to an analysis by AAA Mid-Atlantic. The city’s newly-released figures show that Philadelphia Police issued 243 total citations written during the first year of Pennsylvania’s new no-texting-while-driving law. That’s nearly as many as the total for all four or the region’s suburban counties put together (302 total tickets in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery counties).rn rnAAA Mid-Atlantic requested data from the state Administration Office of Pennsylvania Courts and Philadelphia Police in observation of the law’s one-year anniversary, March 8th. In the first full year of the law being in effect, there were a total of 1,302 citations issued across the state, including Philadelphia. The city and suburbs together tallied 545 texting citations, 42% of the state total. rn rnPennsylvania crash statistics show a small decline in distracted driving fatalities for 2012. According to preliminary numbers from the state, there were 57 deaths in distracted driver crashes last year, compared to 59 deaths in 2011 and 66 fatalities in 2010.rn rn“These numbers are an encouraging start in the process of educating drivers and saving lives. The goal is to change behavior and get people to stop texting behind the wheel, not just wait until they do it and then see them get a ticket,†said Jenny M. Robinson, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It will be interesting to see if citations increase during the law’s second year as motorists become more aware of it and police become more active in enforcing the primary offense.â€rn rnThe motor club has long been at the forefront of the distracted driving issue, with a national campaign to pass texting bans in all 50 states. In Pennsylvania, AAA closely supported Senator Tommy Tomlinson’s bill which was signed into law November 9, 2011 by Governor Corbett. Pennsylvania’s law against texting while driving took effect March 8,, 2012 and is a primary offense with a $50 fine. rn rnTOP PENNSYLVANIA METRO AREASrnRanked by Number of Texting While Driving Citationsrn(first year of law effective, data reported from 3-8-12 through 3-5-13)rn rn rnMetro ArearnCounties IncludedrnPopulationrnTotal texting citations in 1st yearrn1rnPhiladelphia MetrornPhiladelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery countiesrn4,030,926rn545rn(243 from city +rn302 from suburbs)rn2rnPittsburgh MetrornAllegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland countiesrn2,359,746rn196rn3rnYork-Hanover MetrornYork Countyrn436,770rn65rn4rnAllentown-Bethlehem-Easton MetrornCarbon, Lehigh, Northampton countiesrn824,916rn59rn5rnHarrisburg-Carlisle MetrornCumberland, Dauphin, Perry countiesrn552, 911rn53rn6rnScranton-Wilkes-Barre MetrornLackawanna, Luzerne, Wyomingrn563,223rn rn52rnSOURCES: Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; Philadelphia Police; U.S. Census Bureaurn rnTOP TEN PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIESrnRanked by Number of Texting While Driving Citationsrn(first year of law effective, data reported from 3-8-12 through 3-5-13)rnSOURCE: Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts; Philadelphia Policern rn rnCountyrnTotal texting citations in one yearrn1rnPhiladelphiarn243.rn2rnMontgomeryrn111rn3rnAlleghenyrn110rn4rnDelawarern75rn5rnBucksrn67rn6rnYorkrn65rn7rnChesterrn49rn8rnLehighrn32rn9rnDauphinrn31rn10rnLuzernern30rnThe numbers of texting tickets mostly followed population rankings – but not always. The Philadelphia/suburban region is the state’s largest metro area, and ranks number one for texting citations. The Pittsburgh region ranks second, also consistent with being the second-largest metro area in Pennsylvania. But the number three spot is surprising; the York-Hanover region is ranked third for texting tickets, even though it has only about half the population of number-four region, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area. The Harrisburg region also edged out Scranton-Wilkes-Barre slightly, despite having fewer people.rn rnIn the first six months of the no-texting law, Dauphin, Lancaster, Luzerne counties tied for 9th place with 17 texting citations each. However, for a full year of data, Lancaster and Lackawanna counties dropped below the top ten.rn rnAccording to federal research, sending or reading a text, takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. At 55 miles per hour, that's like driving the length of an entire football field, blindfolded.rn rnAAA’s own recent poll of licensed drivers in Pennsylvania, found that 43% of respondents said distracted drivers were their No. 1 fear on the road. By comparison, 23% of respondents said drunk drivers were their biggest concern.rn rnNinety-four percent of drivers tell AAA they consider texting while driving a serious threat; however, more than one third of drivers (35 percent) admit to reading a text or email while driving in the past 30 days and more than a quarter of drivers (26 percent) admit to sending a message while driving in the past month. It’s “do as I say, not as I do.â€rn rnSpecifics of Pennsylvania’s ban on text messaging that was supported by AAA:rn· Prohibits as a primary offense all drivers from using an Interactive Wireless Communication Device (IWCD) to send, read or write a text message.rn· Defines an IWCD as a wireless phone, personal digital assistant, smart phone, portable or mobile computer or similar devices that can be used for texting, instant messaging, emailing or browsing the internet. rn· Defines a text-based message as a text message, instant message email or other written communication composed or received on an IWCD.rn· Institutes a $50 fine for convictions under this section.rn· Makes clear that this law supersedes and preempts any local ordinances restriction the use of interactive wireless devices by drivers.rn· This law took effect on March 8, 2012.rn rn###rn rnAAA Mid-Atlantic serves 700,000 members in the Philadelphia (5-county) region and nearly four million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, with personal insurance, financial, automotive and travel services through 53 retail branches, regional operations centers and the internet, at www.aaa.com/community.rnrnReturn to News Release Index rnrnContact: Jenny M. Robinson rnPhone: (215) 399-1295 rnrnContact: Jana Tidwell rnPhone: (302) 299-4426