Amish sect fights Pennsylvania traffic mandate

By The Associated Press

03.27.01

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EBENSBURG, Pa. — A reflective orange triangle, the symbol of safety, could become a symbol of religious freedom in Pennsylvania.

Last week, five Amish men were fined $100 for failing to mount the orange triangles on the backs of their horse-drawn wooden buggies, as required by state law.

Ten more members of the Swartzentruber branch of Amish are scheduled to receive similar fines for the same offense.

But all say they will not pay the fine and are seeking the help of the American Civil Liberties Union to bring the case to state Supreme Court.

While other Amish groups have followed Pennsylvania law and agreed to place the safety triangles on their slow-moving buggies, the Swartzentruber branch says the gaudy color violates their belief in plain personal belongings.

They want to mark their buggies with gray reflective tape instead.

"The orange triangle is an anathema to them," said Donna Doblick, an attorney handling the Swartzentrubers' defense. "They quoted Biblical passages that said they should not put their faith in symbols, that they should put their faith in God, not in an orange emblem."

"And their forefathers encouraged them to stay off the roads and away from society, and the orange triangle, in a way, promotes their being on the road," Doblick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

In Ohio and nine other states the Swartzentrubers, which started a 50-family settlement in Pennsylvania in 1997, are allowed to use the reflective tape.

Doblick said the tape, compared to the orange triangle, is "as effective, if not more so."

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Chizmar said the department has not done any comparison tests.

But PennDOT officials, the Cambria County District Attorney and some politicians point out that the reflective triangles are meant to protect the Amish.

The gray reflective tape cannot be seen during the day, but is visible when lights hit it at night. But vehicles traveling at 55 mph can approach the buggies in seconds — day or night — and the orange triangles help, PennDOT officials said.

"In my opinion, it's a violation of a statute," Cambria County District Attorney David Tulowitzki said. "In their opinion, it's a constitutional issue."

Tulowitzki has already sent one Swartzentruber to jail over the issue.

Jonas Swartzentruber, 22, of Carrolltown, Cambria County, spent three days in jail in December rather than pay a small fine for refusing to use the triangle.

Witold Walczak, executive director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU, said members of the Amish branch have said they would leave the state if they lost the court battle.

"They said they'd probably move to a friendlier state. I said, 'This is really important to you.' And if you could have captured the looks on their faces, that's the Kodak moment," Walczak said.

State Rep. Gary Haluska, D-Cambria County, has joined a group of township supervisors and a local Pennsylvania Farm Bureau representative in writing the court to encourage that the law stay intact.

"I think their bishop is being too strict," Haluska said. "It's like Dorothy not being in Kansas anymore. Well, Dorothy, you're not in Ohio anymore, either."

Update

Trial begins for Amish who refuse to put safety symbols on carriages
Sect members say they'll leave Pennsylvania if judge rules they must use 16-inch orange reflective triangle.  04.13.02