If I had the force to overthrow these despotic laws I would use it without an instant's hesitation or delay, but I haven't got it, and so I am law-abiding under protest – not from scruple – and bide my time
— Eugene V. Debs (@DebsEbooks) June 26, 2021
Pennsylvania
One of the really curious things that I’ve had a hard time adapting to since coming to Pittsburgh is the nearly-complete non-enforcement of speed limits. This is partly due to a ban on radar by all but the Pennsylvania state troopers. Some keep trying to change this but they haven’t succeeded yet. One of the arguments against radar has been rooted in a fear that municipalities will use speed enforcement as a revenue source[1] much like San Francisco uses parking ticket revenue. This latest effort would limit such revenue “to 10% of a municipality’s budget.”[2] When I previously visited this topic, it was twenty percent.[3]
Will this time be different? Words I thought I’d never say: I hope so. Because where I come from, the speeds that people drive at routinely here would be considered reckless.
Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/
- [1]Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/; Anne Shannon, “Proposed legislation could make Pennsylvania last state to allow local police to use radar,” WGAL, February 14, 2020, https://www.wgal.com/article/proposed-legislation-could-make-pennsylvania-last-state-to-allow-local-police-to-use-radar/30799636↩
- [2]Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/↩
- [3]Anne Shannon, “Proposed legislation could make Pennsylvania last state to allow local police to use radar,” WGAL, February 14, 2020, https://www.wgal.com/article/proposed-legislation-could-make-pennsylvania-last-state-to-allow-local-police-to-use-radar/30799636↩