The state Transportation Department and the state police are teaming up to make the motoring public aware of four recent and significant changes in the Motor Vehicle Code. It's all part of the education program the two agencies are undertaking in conjunction with Highway Safety Law Awareness Week (Feb. 19-25).

One of the four is known as "Daniel's Law," which was signed by Gov. Tom Wolf last November and which took effect last month. This bill toughens penalties for those who cause deaths and serious accidents while texting and driving.The law is named for Daniel Gallatin, a Lawrence County volunteer firefighter for 40 years who was killed in May 2013 when his motorcycle was struck from behind by a motorist who was texting while driving. In Pennsylvania, 66 deaths resulted from 14,800 crashes during 2015, the last year for which official figures are available.The driver paid a $250 fine and was sentenced to 23 months in jail but served just two months of the sentence, which touched off a firestorm of criticism across the state.In signing the bill, Wolf said this behavior has been allowed to go under-punished for too long. It is just as dangerous as drunken driving, he said. "Distracted driving has fatal, irreversible and grave consequences," Wolf added.State Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-Lawrence, prime sponsor of the bill, said he hopes that Daniel's Law will lead to safer roads by raising awareness of the serious aftermath when a driver attempts to text while the vehicle is in motion. In the time it takes to read a text message, a vehicle can travel about 300 feet - the length of a football field."I was honored to stand up for the Gallatin family when they came to me after suffering this horrible tragedy. While we cannot bring Dan Gallatin back, at least his family will know that through this law, his loss will help to save lives," Gibbons said."My father is dead and the person responsible spent only 60 days in jail. Something needed to be done," said Gallatin's daughter, Michelle Gallatin-Baughman.The new law provides imprisonment for up to five years if a death results from texting while driving or up to two years in the event of serious injury.The other three laws being showcased during the week are:• The Child Passenger Safety law update, which went into effect last August. This requires that children be buckled into a rear-facing car seat until the age of 2 or until they meet the maximum weight or height requirements set by the seat manufacturer.• The ignition interlock law, which applies to second or subsequent DUI offenders, and which requires them to install this system in every car they operate or lease for more than a year. Each system costs $1,000. This law will take effect in August. An ignition interlock is a device which prevents a vehicle from starting if the driver has been drinking. It works similarly to a Breathalyzer by measuring the alcohol in a person's system. If the amount of alcohol on the driver's breath exceeds the state legal limit of 0.08 percent, then the device locks the vehicle's ignition temporarily.• Pedestrian Safety Laws at unsignalized intersections require a driver emerging from or entering a driveway, private road, building or alley to yield the right of way to a pedestrian approaching on any sidewalk that extends across the roadway. Failure to do so could lead to a fine and three points on the driver's license. It is also illegal to overtake or pass a vehicle yielding to a pedestrian within a crosswalk. Pedestrians also have responsibilities under this law. They are required to use the sidewalk and marked crosswalks where provided. When there is no sidewalk, pedestrians should walk along the shoulder or the road's edge as far away from traffic as possible and facing traffic.• State Police Commissioner Tyree Blocker said new laws such as these are designed to enhance the public's safety on state roadways. "It is important that the public be aware of these enhancements, which can go a long way toward keeping drivers and their passengers safe."• State Transportation Secretary Leslie S. Richards agreed. "This year, we are educating the public about highway safety laws that were recently passed or updated and how they impact drivers," he said.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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