Montgomery County is No. 2 in Driver-Texting Tickets
Only Philadelphia issued more citations in the first year of a Pennsylvania law.
The first year of Pennsylvania's ban on texting while driving resulted in 1,302 tickets being given statewide, including 111 in Montgomery County, according to an analysis by AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Only Philadelphia police, with 243 tickets, issued more. Delaware County police issued 75, ranking No. 4 among Pennsylvania counties, and Chester County police issued 49, ranking No. 7.
The law took effect March 8, 2012. It made texting while driving a primary offense, which means drivers can be pulled over for it, and it carries a $50 fine.
When comparing the ratio of total population to tickets issued, using the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, Montgomery County's citation rate exceeded the state average by about 35 percent.
Here's how ticket totals corresponded to populations elsewhere:
| Place | Population | Driver-texting tickets | Tickets per 100,000 pop. |
| Chester County | 503,897 | 49 | 9.7 |
| Delaware County | 559,494 | 75 | 13.4 |
| Montgomery County | 804,210 | 111 | 13.8 |
| Philadelphia | 1,536,471 | 243 | 15.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 12,743,948 | 1,302 | 10.2 |
How often do you text while driving? Are you worried about getting ticketed? Please tell us in the comments section below.
michael
3:44 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
well they havent been giving them out in ardmore - i see these idiots on the road everyday texting - and driving - some woman ran up the curb on lancaster and nearly hit me - she just smiled at me - hope she doesnt kill someone!
Josh
9:46 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
There is no way to tell a person who is texting vs dialing a number so how is the rule fairly observrd? just curious?
Not everyone has a brand new car with built in technology or Bluetooth let alone understands how to use it. I am not for 'texting' and driving. Obviously it is a horrific accident waiting to happen- to anyone. But how do you enforce it fairly??