As violations soar, Pa. finds men drivers more distracted than women by far
Citations for distracted driving have jumped better than 50 percent the last two years, and males account for 70 percent of them. according to Pennsylvania officials.
The results are in, and show men are more often distracted while driving than women, at least in the Keystone State.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts reported on Friday that citations for distracted driving had increased 52 percent in Pennsylvania from 2014 to 2016.
Men accounted for 70 percent of drivers cited for texting while driving, which includes sending, reading or writing a text-based message or email, and for wearing or using headphones or earphones while the car is in motion.
Twenty-seven percent of the drivers given the citations were in their 30s. Only 6 percent were teenagers.
The office did a county-by-county breakdown of infractions in 2016. Overall, there were 12,201 citations issued across the state.
Montgomery County residents led the list for distracted driving citations with 379. Allegheny was No. 2 with 316; Philadelphia third, with 216. Rounding out the top five were York, with 212, and Chester, with 208.
Bucks County drivers were cited 152 times and Delaware County had 127 drivers with tickets for distracted driving, according to the office.
Local police issued 58 percent of the tickets, state police were responsible for the remainder.
May was the month for the most citations – 1,300, handed out mostly between 8 a.m. and noon, according to the office.
For those caught texting while driving, there is a $50 fine plus court costs.