In a Boss Tweed style, smoke-filled back-room deal, the Transportation
Committee amended House Bill 606, RADAR for municipal police, to include
Moving RADAR for the State police. NO mention or public comment period
about adding Moving RADAR. There was NO discussion of doing this
beforehand. This allows the State Police to run a speedtrap anytime the
vehicle is in motion. There are 4 distinct scenarios, so a vehicle can
be clocked anywhere near the cruiser.
This means that the state will now be a continuous speedtrap. Anytime
the State Police are driving around, the RADAR will be engaged. This
type of RADAR is much more complex and much more likely to produce an
inaccurate reading. As a result, there will be huge numbers of
error-prone tickets, and speed limits will still not be raised to
highway safety engineering safe speeds. You will be ticketed if you
drive +6 mph over the posted limit. This is BY FAR, one of the most
anti-driver bills the Transportation Committee has ever voted out.
There is no speeding crisis. That is urban myth, to scare the public and
to ram RADAR down the public's throat. PennDOT data shows
Pennsylvania's roads are the safest they have ever been. 2% - 3% of
fatalities are caused by speeding. 97% - 98% of all drivers are safe
drivers. There is zero need to arm municipal police with RADAR guns, and
even less need to arm the state Police with Moving RADAR.
Find out what's happening in Tredyffrin-Easttownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Unless, of course, you want to take scores of millions of dollars from
safe drivers. Tell your Representative to VOTE NO on House Bill 606.
Archimedes Member, National Motorists Association www.motorists.org