Pennsylvania local police departments cannot use speed radar to enforce traffic limits, making the commonwealth the only state that bars local police from using radar to enforce speed limits, Land Line reported. That legislative boundary could soon shift under a measure advancing through the state Senate.
Senate Bill 509, which recently cleared the Senate Transportation Committee in a unanimous vote, aims to give local officers a technological tool long reserved exclusively for state troopers. Since 1961, only state troopers have been allowed to use the technology, forcing local officers to rely on alternatives like manual stopwatches to check speeds.
The proposed expansion of radar authority comes with strict parameters designed to prevent departments from treating traffic stops as a revenue stream. Under the legislation, drivers generally could not be convicted based on radar evidence if they were going less than 10 mph over the posted speed limit. On roadways where the limit exceeds 55 mph, that enforcement threshold tightens to 6 mph over the limit. The rules would be different in school zones and active work zones.
Guardrails Against Revenue Generation
Lawmakers structured the bill to address concern that speed enforcement tools translate into municipal cash grabs. Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Mechanicsburg, added several rules to the measure to separate safety enforcement from municipal budgeting.
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The legislation explicitly bans ticket quotas and bars police from using radar mainly to raise money. For the first 90 days after implementation, local departments would be restricted to issuing written warnings rather than tickets based on radar readings. Furthermore, officers could operate the technology only from clearly marked law enforcement vehicles.
Financial safeguards within the bill dictate that municipal revenue from speeding fines cannot surpass the amount collected from speed enforcement during the year before. Any surplus collected above that limit would be diverted to the state’s Motor License Fund. Before any municipal police force could activate the technology, the host town or city would also be required to pass a formal local ordinance.
Broader Legislative Push Against Quotas
The radar debate runs parallel to a separate legislative effort in the state House targeting ticket quotas. House Bill 1955 seeks to outlaw department policies that require officers to produce a set number of tickets, while also restricting “station averaging” practices.
Under that proposal, any tickets tied directly to an illegal quota could be thrown out. The bill would also let full-time local police officers use speed radar.
State Police officials maintain that radar is the most effective and accurate tool for controlling speed. Conversely, organizations like the National Motorists Association advocate for speed limits aligned with actual driving patterns, supporting the “85th percentile” approach where limits reflect the speed of 85% of motorists in free-flowing conditions.
Senate Bill 509 awaits further floor consideration as lawmakers weigh whether modern enforcement technology can be integrated without undermining public trust in local policing.
