For decades, state lawmakers have debated whether local police officers should be allowed to use radar to catch speeding drivers.

At this point, the debate itself is becoming more dangerous than the technology.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that prohibits municipal police departments from using radar for speed enforcement. Every other state figured out how to trust local officers with a tool that has become standard equipment in modern policing.

Yet here we are in 2026, still asking local police to monitor speed using methods that date back to another era.

For many communities, enforcing speed limits still depends on stopwatch-style timing systems, painted lines on roadways and VASCAR equipment. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania State Police have been using radar since 1961.

Think about that.

The state trusts troopers with radar. It trusts local police officers to investigate crimes, make arrests, respond to emergencies and enforce countless other provisions of the Vehicle Code.

But it still refuses to trust those same officers with the speed-detection equipment used in every other state in America.

The logic has never made much sense.

What’s hard to understand is how many times Harrisburg has come close to fixing it.

Local radar legislation has been introduced repeatedly for years. In 2021, Senate Bill 419 passed the Senate by an overwhelming 49-1 margin before dying when the legislative session expired. Similar proposals met similar fates in previous sessions.

Now lawmakers have another opportunity.

Senate Bill 509, sponsored by Sen. Greg Rothman and supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, recently passed the Senate by the same overwhelming 49-1 vote and now awaits action in the House. The legislation would finally allow municipal police departments to use radar while incorporating safeguards specifically designed to address concerns about abuse and revenue generation. It includes mandatory officer training, clearly posted warning signs, a 90-day grace period and strict limits intended to prevent radar enforcement from becoming a municipal cash cow.

In other words, lawmakers have spent years refining the bill to answer the objections raised by opponents.

The basic argument against municipal radar has always been the fear of “speed traps” and ticket-driven revenue. That’s a legitimate concern. Nobody wants traffic enforcement used to balance a municipal budget.

But Senate Bill 509 recognizes those concerns and addresses them directly. More importantly, it asks a larger question: How many more lives should be placed at risk while Harrisburg searches for a perfect solution to a problem every other state has already solved?

Lawmakers should look at the numbers for an answer.

According to PennDOT crash data from 2006 through 2025, Carbon County recorded 223 traffic fatalities. Of those, 93 occurred in speed-related crashes, accounting for nearly 42% of all traffic deaths.

In Monroe County, the numbers are even more troubling. Of 519 traffic fatalities recorded during the same period, 234 were speed-related. That represents more than 45% of all traffic deaths.

Behind every one of those numbers is a family that received a knock on the door nobody wants to receive.

Nobody is suggesting radar is a magic solution. It won’t eliminate speeding. It won’t prevent every crash. It won’t stop every reckless driver.

But law enforcement officers across Pennsylvania continue to make the same argument: Radar is a proven tool that allows them to address dangerous speeding more effectively, particularly on neighborhood streets, in school zones and in areas where traditional timing methods are difficult or impractical to use.

Local governments have been making the case for years.

Back in 2016, Palmerton Borough Council adopted a formal resolution supporting legislation that would allow municipal police to use radar. The resolution pointed out that Pennsylvania was the only state in the nation denying local police access to a common law-enforcement tool while simultaneously expecting them to enforce speed laws and protect the public.

Ten years later, the argument remains unchanged because the facts remain unchanged.

What has changed is the amount of time wasted.

At some point, lawmakers have to stop congratulating themselves for passing radar bills through one chamber and start getting them across the finish line.

Senate Bill 509 isn’t a radical proposal. It doesn’t give police new powers. It simply gives local officers access to the same tool already available to the state police and their counterparts in every other state.

If lawmakers believe speeding is a threat to public safety, and the statistics suggest it certainly is, then they should act accordingly.

Not next session. Not after another round of studies. Not after another bill expires in legislative limbo.

This session.

After 65 years, Pennsylvania has debated municipal radar long enough.

The time for excuses has run out.

And it’s about time we catch up.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 45 years’ experience in community journalism.