House looking at allowing local police to use radar
Brian F. Henry | Tribune-Review
Greensburg police Sgt. Charles Irvin demonstrates how the department's ENRADD speed detection system works on on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, on Main Street in Greensburg.
Tribune-Review file photo
A Pennsylvania state trooper checks a motorist's speed with a radar gun along Route 28 near the Cheswick exit.
The House Transportation Committee plans to hold a public hearing Wednesday in Harrisburg on allowing local police departments to use radar to catch speeders.
State law currently limits radar use to state police. Local police are limited to other devices such as stopwatches or a laser system known as ENRADD.
The Senate passed a bill, 46-3, in November that would lift that restriction. That bill is currently in front of the House committee.
Senate Bill 251 would require municipalities to pass an ordinance, get their officers trained on radar use, post signs warning motorists that police can use radar to enforce speeds and limit revenue from speeding tickets to 20 percent of the municipality's budget.
