Centre County Trick or Treating – Remember that Texting While Driving is Illegal
Posted in General on January 12, 2015
With Halloween quickly approaching, our streets in State College, Centre Hall, Bellefonte, and other local towns will be filled with kids going door-to-door as part of the annual trick-or-treating adventure. My three kids are excited to have the opportunity to obtain more candy in one evening than they should consume in an entire year. I will be accompanied by Batman, Spidergirl, and Superwoman, so I feel pretty safe and secure.
While I am looking forward to trick or treating with my kids as they thoroughly enjoy it, I also am surprised, and I often get annoyed, when I am walking with my children and see people operating their cars in a less than safe manner on Halloween. People know that the streets are filled with kids and thereby should be driving more slowly and more cautiously based upon the circumstances. Most people are more careful, but it is the select few that scare me.
Texting While Driving is Illegal in Pennsylvania
I also wanted to remind everyone that it is illegal to text while driving in Pennsylvania. Section 3316 of the Vehicle Code prohibits a person from operating a vehicle on a highway or trafficway and reading, writing, or sending a text or email. While the texting while driving is only a traffic summary violation, it does carry a $50.00 fine, which would probably exceed over $100.00 after all the court costs and fees are added.
Aside from being a crime, it also simply is not safe to text or email while driving. With our local streets soon to be filled with young trick-or-treaters, please do not text or email while driving. Hopefully the scariest things that the children will face are witches, goblins, and skeletons, not cars and trucks being operated by texting drivers.