No one can accuse Pennsylvania of breaking any speed limits in passing legislation that would allow local police to use radar technology for speed enforcement.
Measures have been offered in numerous past legislative sessions only to die due to inaction when that session ends. But that hasn’t dissuaded proponents of ridding Pennsylvania with the label of being the only state in the nation that denies local police the option of adding radar speed guns to their speed enforcement toolbox.
The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved by a 14-0 vote a bill, sponsored by Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe County, that would allow municipal police to use radar.
“The whole purpose is to save lives especially in the downtown of boroughs where they can’t set up Lidar [Light Detection and Ranging] and VASCAR [Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder] because you got cars all over,” Scavello told the committee.
He noted speed was cited as a factor in a recent pedestrian fatality in Mount Pocono, a borough in Monroe County, at a heavily congested intersection where high speed has contributed to a history of crashes.
“The only way the local police can enforce and enforce properly is with radar,” he said.
The bill would require municipalities to adopt an ordinance to allow for police to use radar. It also bars motorists from being ticketed unless their vehicle’s speed is recorded at more than 10 mph above the limit. On an interstate highway with a speed limit of 70 mph, tickets could be issued only when speeds top limits by 6 mph or more. This wouldn’t apply to school and work zones.
Further, to address one of the perennial arguments raised about giving local police the use of radar, it caps the revenue a municipality can collect from speeding tickets at 20 percent of the municipal budget. Any revenue collected above that amount would be deposited in the state’s Motor License Fund, which is used to fund road and bridge improvements and state police operations.
Sen. Elder Vogel, R-Beaver County, said he always saw this proposal as a moneymaker which is why he has been opposed to the idea. He said he liked the bill’s inclusion of a revenue cap so he was willing to support moving the bill out of committee.
But opponents of the proposal remain firm that money is what this is about. They say radar can make errors, resulting in motorists wrongly receiving speeding tickets. Additionally, they maintain that speed traps are frequently placed where speed limits change so more tickets can be issued.
Furthermore, representatives from the National Motorists Association maintain that speed limits lower than the 85th percentile of free-flowing traffic speed and strict enforcement cause crashes.
Meanwhile, associations representing municipalities of all sizes, mayors and police chief stand in unison in support of this bill.
The bill now can advance through the Senate for consideration.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
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