Pennsylvania is the only state that prohibits local police from using radar for speed enforcement. Still, the staties are happy to fill the void and tag you with their radar units. So keep your eyes open, especially in the locations highlighted below.
This information comes from the NMA’s National Speed Trap Exchange (http://www.speedtrap.org/), a unique website that gives drivers an opportunity to report on and exchange comments about predatory speed traps they have encountered on their travels.
Five Highest Activity Speed Trap Locations
1. Erie: Route 20 east of approx. 1 mile east of Fairview
61 Reports 100% Acknowledgement Rate*
“State police will set up radar either at the bottom of Walnut Creek hill in either direction. Road is four-lane and speed limit is 45. They also will set up on the west side of the hill near the gymnastics business catching speeders in both directions. Being a wide open four-lane highway, people have a hard time maintaining the 45 mph limit.”
2. Canonsburg: RT19 North
61 Reports 100% Acknowledgement Rate
“Various traps (normally as many as four) by North Strabane Township between the Meadowlands Road interchange and the 519 interchange watching north and southbound traffic.”
3. Coatesville: Route 30 Bypass East at the Airport exit
56 Reports 97% Acknowledgement Rate
“Police like to hide off to the right and clock you using radar. Coming east the hiding spot is about two miles before the Route 82 exit.”
4. Whitehall: Route 145/Roosevelt St. just past Eagle Point
35 Reports 97% Acknowledgement Rate
“Police religiously sit on Roosevelt St. or up at Direct Kitchen Distributors with a second vehicle down the road closer to Clear View Road. They run this trap very often, as I was a previous occupant of the apartments located there.”
5. Beaver Springs: Route 235 North in Village of Benfer
32 Reports 100% Acknowledgement Rate
“Speed Limit on Rt 235 is 45 mph. In the village of Benfer, it drops to 25 mph. Cops sit in any available hidden spot. Benfer is the home of the Beaver Springs Dragway.”
Ten Pennsylvania Cities with Most Reported Speed Traps (for the Last Five Years)
| Rank | City | Number of Speed Traps | Acknowledgement Rate |
| 1 | Pine Grove | 23 | 98% |
| 2 | State College | 18 | 97% |
| 3 | York | 13 | 97% |
| 4 | Erie | 10 | 93% |
| 5 | Lancaster | 9 | 96% |
| 6 | Reading | 9 | 90% |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | 9 | 92% |
| 8 | Somerset | 9 | 88% |
| 9 | Allentown | 9 | 83% |
| 10 | Downingtown | 9 | 86% |
* Acknowledgement rate is the percentage of yes votes to total votes by motorists indicating whether the reported locations, in their opinions, are actually speed traps. Data are available at the links provided.
About The National Speed Trap Exchange
With the development of The National Speed Trap Exchange (http://www.speedtrap.org/) more than 10 years ago, the National Motorists Association pioneered the use of interactive media to alert motorists to potential speed trap activity in their communities. Since then the site has reported on nearly 80,000 speed traps throughout the United States and Canada.
