Brush Up on New PA Road Rules

It is important for all of us to know the rules of the road! This year, there are a number of rules and new penalties that are taking some PA residents by surprise. At Conestoga Collision, we urge all drivers to safely operate their vehicles while on the roadways. Make sure you are doing so legally as well!

The “Child Passenger Safety” law update, which went into effect in August 2016, states that children are required to be buckled into a rear-facing car seat until they are age 2 or meet the maximum weight or height requirements set by the manufacturer of the seat.

“Daniel’s Law” honors motorcyclist Daniel Gallatin, who died in 2013. It was signed in January 2017 and increases the penalty for texting while driving resulting in serious bodily injury or death.

The “Ignition Interlock Law” affects first-time or subsequent DUI offenders. It requires drivers to install an Ignition Interlock system in every car they operate or lease for more than a year. Each system costs $1,000. The law will go into effect in August 2017.

“Pedestrian Safety Laws at unsignalized intersections” state that a driver of a vehicle emerging from or entering an alley, building, private road, or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian approaching on any sidewalk extending across the alley, building entrance, road, or driveway. Failure to do so could lead to a fine and three points on the driver’s license.

Reasonable folks can argue about over-regulation from time to time, but most of this seems pretty reasonable to us from a safety point of view.