Jul 16, 2016 2 min read

In order to continue spending money recklessly on themselves and anything they want, the Pennsylvania Legislature is hard at work passing laws to steal money from drivers all over the commonwealth. Senate Bills 535, 559, 840 and 1267 and House Bills 2233 and 2236 are very quickly working their way through their respective chambers in order to take millions of dollars from safe drivers.

These bills renew the red-light camera program for 10 years, give radar and Lidar to local cops, and would enable the installation of speed cameras everywhere. None of this is for highway safety. It is all for money for the Legislature and their protected special interests, including auto insurers. They think they can get away with this nonsense because everyone has to drive and is a target for their unfair taxation.

Lengthening yellow light durations by 1.5 seconds is forbidden by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation because that would make the red light cameras unprofitable, never mind that it would make the intersections safer. Speed limits are posted too slow on 90 percent of Pennsylvania’s roads, making it easy to ticket “speeders” who are simply driving safely. Work-zone deaths are a red herring: 85 percent of the deaths are caused by machinery in the work zone, not “speeders.”

This is an election year, with all the representatives and half of the senators at risk of losing their jobs. With the above legislation, they are aiming right at our wallets. We need to stop the nickel-and-diming of drivers in Pennsylvania.

Tom McCarey

Berwyn

McCarey is a member of the National Motorists Association, an advocacy group.