Pennsylvania bill allows police use speed radars

The state of Pennsylvania plans to allow the local patrol to use radar to measure speed.

Pennsylvania is currently the only state where the use of speed radar is prohibited for municipal police. It can only be used by state police.

Senator Greg Rothman (GOP, Mechanicsburg), who has been pushing for years to pass legislation that would allow municipal police officers to use radar to issue speeding tickets, has again introduced this bill.

In the spring of 2023, the Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously to move the bill forward.

However, the bill includes several conditions that must be accomplished for the use of radar by local police.

A fine will be issued if the offending driver exceeds the posted speed limit by at least 10 miles per hour. In active construction zones, the speed limit must be at least 6 mph above the posted speed limit.

One issue that prevented local police from allowing the use of radar for many years is the stereotype that the technology will be used as a source of income.

The authors of the bill are trying to solve these problems by including a provision for issuing written warnings for violations that will occur within the first 90 days after the entry into force of the law.

The use of speed radars will only be permitted when the officer is in or near a «clearly marked» law enforcement vehicle.

In addition, the income generated from speeding fines cannot exceed the previous year’s speeding enforcement income by more than 1%. Any income above the limit will go to the state car license fund.

«Pennsylvania has one of the highest speeding road death rates in the nation, and more than 85% of speeding-related deaths in our state take place on local roads,» Donahue wrote in a memo.

«Despite this sad reality, Pennsylvania is the only state where local police can’t use radar to enforce speed limits.»