| Auto Registration and Inspection
Auto Registration If you are a new resident in Pennsylvania, you must obtain a new title and registration for your vehicle and obtain Pennsylvania plates within 60 days after you move here. Application for operator licenses, vehicle titles and registration plates may be obtained at any State Police Office or any District Justice Office. If you would like any further information about driving, licensing, or registering your vehicle, call any State Police Office. Auto Inspection Vehicles must be inspected at an approved inspection station and display a valid inspection sticker to be operated on highways in Pennsylvania. The inspection stations will require you to show a current registration card and proof of insurance for the vehicle being inspected. The inspection sticker will become invalid on the last day of the month in which the vehicle registration expires.
Bicycle Registration and Rules
All bicycles must be registered to prevent theft and help the police trace lost or stolen bicycles. Bicycle registrations can be obtained by calling the police department. The cost of registration is 50 cents.
All persons operating a bicycle must obey vehicle traffic control signals, signs and other devices. Bicycles must travel in the proper direction on a one-way street unless the person dismounts from the bicycle and obeys all pedestrian regulations. Bicyclists must ride as close to the right-hand side of the roadway as possible. Operators may not carry another person on a bicycle unless the bicycle is designed and equipped to carry another person.
When operating a bicycle between sunset and sunrise, the bike must be equipped with a front light visible for at least 500 feet, amber reflectors on each side and a red reflector visible from the rear of the bicycle for 600 feet.
A red light visible to the rear for at least 500 feet may be used in addition to the red reflector. Crime Prevention
Residential. The police department will check houses when owners go on vacation. Before going on vacation, residents should call our office (610) 683-8740 to obtain a security check. Be prepared with the departure and return dates, names and phone numbers of any individuals who have keys, anyone with permission to be on your premises (cleaning people, lawn service, people feeding pets/getting mail, etc.), and any alarm information. Interior light timers are available on loan from the police department.
Business. Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department provides nightly checks to all businesses located within our business directory. Our business directory contains a list of businesses located in the three municipalities and includes emergency contact names, telephone numbers and alarm information. The police department contacts all the businesses currently in the directory periodically to update the entries; however, business owners and operators are urged to contact the department when changes in personnel occur.
Crime Watch. Crime Watch meetings are currently being held in all three municipalities. The Crime Watch Programs are made up of residents who are concerned with crime in their neighborhoods. Crime Watch Meetings are held monthly in all three municipalities in the municipal buildings. For more information about Crime Watch Programs, call Officer Mark Dietrich at the office (610) 683-8740. Crime Reporting
Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department is located at 127 Quarry Road, Kutztown, PA 19530. To report a life-threatening emergency or crime, call the police at 911. For non-emergency calls dial (610) 655-4911.
You will be asked your name, address and phone number, as well as a brief description of what is happening. A police officer will then contact you and take the necessary information about the situation and what happened, where, when, who is involved, etc. Information about the people that is especially helpful are names or physical descriptions, facial features, clothing, approximate age. The description of any vehicle involved (color, model, year, license plate number and state) is very important.
Pennsylvania Drivers License
A Pennsylvania drivers license must be obtained within 60 days after moving here unless you regularly dwell in two or more states and have declared your residence elsewhere. An application for a learners permit or drivers license can be obtained at any State Police Office, Drivers Exam point or District Justice Office.
Emergency
In the event of emergency services of police, fire department or ambulance, dial 911. A Berks County Communications Center telecommunicator will answer the phone and ask you the following questions:
Your Name
Address of emergency
Telephone number you are calling from
Brief description of emergency
It is important to remain calm so the telecommunicator can assist you. Telecommunicators ask standard questions to help them make evaluations and forward necessary information to those responding to your call. Officers will then use this and other information to assign personnel and equipment. A computer assists the telecommunicator with information when the fire company is dispatched.
If you want to report an incident which is not an emergency, call Berks County Communications Center at (610) 655-4911 or call the police
department at (610) 683-8740.
Employment Opportunities with the
Police Department
Applicants must pass a written examination, a test of interpersonal skills and an oral interview. From these tests, a "list of eligible," ranked in order of final scores, is posted. The Chief of Police recommends one person from the top three names on the list for each vacancy to be filled. A thorough background investigation is conducted. After the interviews, the best qualified candidate is appointed by the Board of Commissioners, conditioned upon passing the psychological and medical exams.
If the new officer is not already certified as a trained municipal officer, the new recruit is enrolled in a 12-week training program to achieve certification. Salary and benefits are paid to the officer during the training period. Successful completion of the 12-week training course is required for continued employment as a Police Officer.
Applications for police positions are accepted only when the department is recruiting officers. Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department is an equal opportunity employer.
Fingerprinting
Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department provides fingerprinting services. Stop by the office Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., or contact the office at (610) 683-8740 to schedule an appointment. Contact the office for any questions you may have regarding
fingerprinting services.
Reporting an Accident
If you are involved in an accident, there are several things you are legally required to do. First, you must stop at the scene, or as close to the scene, of the accident as possible without blocking traffic. You may move the vehicles if they are obstructing traffic even before the police arrive.
Give help to anyone who is injured. Don't attempt to move an injured person from the scene. You are required by law to report the accident to the police. Call 911 to report all accidents.
Exchange the following information with the other operator(s): name, address, telephone number, operator license number, vehicle registration and insurance information.
If there are no personal injuries and vehicles can be removed from the scene, you are not required to report the accident to the police, but you may do so if either party desires. It is wise to exchange the same information listed above.
If you hit an unattended vehicle or someone else's property, you must stop at the scene and notify the owner of the vehicle or property, and provide them with your name, address, telephone number, operators license number, vehicle registration and insurance information. If you cannot find the operator or owner of the property, you must leave a note with the cited information attached to the vehicle or property in a conspicuous place and notify the police of the accident.
Seat and Safety Belt Regulations
The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code requires that, in vehicles manufactured after 7/1/66, the driver and front-seat occupants of a passenger car, Class I truck, Class II truck or motor home shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt.
Any child under the age of four who is a passenger anywhere in the vehicle must be secured in a child passenger restraint system that meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
These regulations do not apply to occupants who possess a written exemption from a physician, psychiatrist, or other specialist qualified to make an informed judgment that he/she is unable to wear a safety belt for a specified reason; a Postal Service rural letter carrier while operating any vehicle during the performance of his duties; or a driver who makes frequent stops and is traveling less than 15 miles per hour for the purpose of delivering goods.
Traffic Citations
Traffic Citations (Moving Violations) Appeals
Citations for traffic violations or summary criminal offenses cannot be appealed at the Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department. Appeal instructions are written on the citation. All appeals are made at the office of the District Justice.
If you receive a citation in Topton Borough, the District Justice is:
District Justice Victor Frederick
P.O. Box 18, Sholl Drive
Oley, PA 19547
(610) 987-3344
If you receive a citation in either Maxatawny Township or Lyons Borough, the District Justice is:
District Justice Gail Greth
110 West Arch Street
Fleetwood, PA 19522
(610) 987-3344 |
