A recent analysis of state court data shows Warren County, and its rural neighbors, haven’t been writing many tickets for distracted driving over the past four years.

According to data released recently by the state court system, there were 10,291 tickets for distracted driving written from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2024. Only 21 (.21%) of those tickets were written in Warren County. Rural counties in the region followed suit. Forest County had only 13 distracted driving tickets written over four years. The numbers were slightly higher in Bradford County (45 distracted driving tickets) and Elk County, where 37 distracted driving tickets were issued – but not by much.

It would be outstanding if people in our area really aren’t using their phones while driving as the statistics indicate – though we can’t help but wonder if the low number of distracted driving tickets in our region is less because of our good behavior and more because distracted driving hasn’t been a primary offense, meaning officers could only write tickets for distracted driving if they pulled a driver over for something else. Because distracted driving wasn’t a primary offense, police agencies in Warren County and its fellow rural counties spent their time enforcing other vehicle and traffic laws while on patrol.

We have a feeling that will change later this year when the state’s tougher distracted driving laws take effect on July 1. It will be a primary offense – meaning an officer can pull a driver over for distracted driving – though the state is only going to give warnings for the first year. Police will be able to write tickets to a driver handling their phone for almost any reason. Drivers can still use their phone to make phone calls or for other functions, such as listening to music, if they are using it hands-free with technology such as a docking station, Bluetooth or speakers. The ban applies to motorists sitting in traffic or stopped at a traffic light, but does not include a driver who has parked on the side of the road or another place where the vehicle can remain stopped safely. Other exceptions include for navigational use or alerting emergency responders.

Pennsylvania has seen distracted driving accidents decrease over the past four years. We expect that trend to continue – even if the numbers say otherwise if local police write more tickets after July 1 now that the state’s distracted driving laws have some teeth.