Trucking Laws · Pennsylvania · October 30, 2026

Pennsylvania Senate Votes 49-1 to Let Local Police Use Speed Radar on Roads Truckers Travel

By Big Rig Daily Staff

Pennsylvania is the only state that bars local police from using radar to enforce speed limits, and a bill to change that has moved forward in the state Senate. The Senate voted 49-1 to advance SB 509, from Sen. Greg Rothman, which would let local police use radar, Land Line reported on Oct. 29. The vote was announced Oct. 20. The bill would change how speed limits are enforced on roads across the state, including roads truckers use.

How speed enforcement works now

Since 1961, radar has been reserved for state troopers in Pennsylvania. Some local officers use a stopwatch method instead, timing a vehicle between two points, Land Line reported.

What SB 509 would do

The bill has several limits built in, according to Land Line:

• Radar evidence generally could not convict a driver going less than 10 mph over the limit. On roads posted above 55 mph, the cutoff is 6 mph over. School zones and active work zones have different rules.
• For the first 90 days, local police could give only written warnings.
• Radar could be used only from clearly marked vehicles.
• A department could not keep more than it collected from speed enforcement the year before. The excess would go to the state Motor License Fund.
• A town would have to pass an ordinance before its police could use radar.

What supporters and critics say

Pennsylvania State Police officials say radar is the most effective and accurate tool for controlling speed, Land Line reported. Some groups, including the National Motorists Association, worry the change could mean more tickets and more revenue for towns.

What happens next

The bill now moves to the House and then to the governor. It is not law, and it could change before then. The details above come from Land Line's description of the bill, so truckers who travel Pennsylvania roads may want to watch for the final wording if the House takes it up.

To put the radar rule in plain terms, a vehicle clocked only a few miles over the limit generally could not be convicted on radar evidence alone under the proposal. The 90 day warning period, the marked vehicle requirement and the town ordinance step are also part of the bill as Land Line described it.

Quick facts

• Bill: SB 509, from Sen. Greg Rothman.
• Senate vote: 49-1, announced Oct. 20, 2026.
• Current rule: only state troopers can use radar, since 1961.
• Warning period: 90 days of written warnings only.
• Next steps: the House, then the governor.

Big Rig Daily has also covered speed limit bills in New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York and Pennsylvania's diesel tax and the bills to cut it.

A question for readers

Will local radar make Pennsylvania roads safer, or just make speed traps easier to run?

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