Posted by Mark Koenig on Friday, August 20, 2010
Keith Goble of Land Line Magazine writes:
A bill in the Pennsylvania House would allow local police to use radar to nab speeders.
Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that prohibits municipal police from enforcing speed limits with radar. Since 1961, only state troopers have been allowed to use radar.
Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, is the sponsor of a bill that would change the state’s distinction. The bill – HB2513 – would permit local, full-time police officers who work for “full-service accredited police departments” to use radar.
Currently, local police are limited to electronic tools such as VASCAR, which determines a vehicle’s speed by measuring the time it takes to move between two points.
If signed into law, local governments would have the option of adopting an ordinance to approve local radar use.
“Radar is considered by many to be one of the most effective and accurate speed-control devices available; however, local police departments have not been permitted to use the full array of traffic enforcement tools available,” Shapiro said in a statement. “This legislation would rectify this situation.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Mark Koenig on Sunday, August 15, 2010
From The Delaware County Times:
Just a reminder in case you didn’t know: Our neighbor state to the south, Delaware, has a law banning hand-held cell phone use and texting while driving that becomes effective Jan. 2, 2011.
Gov. Jack Markell signed the legislation last month, making Delaware the ninth state to ban the use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel and the 30th state to ban texting while driving.
(…)
The honchos in Harrisburg, despite efforts by state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, have failed to enact similar laws in the usual bipartisan tug-of-war with the Republican dominated Senate.
In July, House members by a bipartisan vote of 126-71 rejected the Senate’s version of House Bill 67 imposing stricter rules for teen drivers, citing its amendments weakened the bill regarding cell phone and texting bans, passenger restrictions and driver training hours.
The House version passed overwhelmingly in April 2009 would have made it a primary offense for a teen with a learner’s permit or junior driver’s license to text or talk on a cell phone while driving. However, the next month, the Senate amended the bill to make such conduct a secondary offense, meaning officers could only issue citations if a teen was already stopped for another traffic violation or an accident.
Read the rest of this entry »
