Attorneys for an Amish sect which believes that orange reflective triangles violate their beliefs against gaudy decorations and against placing their faith in man-made symbols before God are appealing a judge's ruling requiring their use on buggies.
In June, Cambria County Judge Timothy Creany ruled that a gray reflective tape the Swartzentruber's favored wasn't as effective.
But attorneys for the sect said prosecutors didn't show that the gray tape was not a workable alternative in their recent appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Lawyers from Reed Smith and the American Civil Liberties Union are handling the case for free.
The appeal said a prosecution witness who testified against the gray tape should not have been allowed to testify during the two-day hearing in June. The witness, a highway safety consultant, never examined the tape the Swartzentruber's favor, according to the appeal.
Assistant District Attorney Heath Long hadn't seen the appeal but stuck by his contention that the reflective tape isn't a safe substitute for orange triangles.
But according to the appeal, Long didn't show any evidence of local accidents involving Swartzentruber buggies and presented "no evidence that more lives would be saved if the Swartzentruber Amish displayed the triangles on their buggies."
One member of the Swartzentruber sect opted for gray reflective tape over the orange triangle 37 years ago and has never been in an accident with a motor vehicle, the appeal said.
Instead of the triangles, the Swartzentruber prefer to use a gray reflective tape and a lantern on the rear of their buggies. Gray or white reflective tape is legal in nine states for use on slow moving vehicles.
Members of the ultraconservative Amish sect account for about 5 percent of the country's Amish population, most of the sect lives in Ohio. Should they lose their appeal, members of the sect say they will move to another state. They moved to Cambria County, about 65 miles east of Pittsburgh, three years ago.
In the meantime, the $95 fines assessed to 20 sect members for each of the 27 violations they challenged for failing to use orange reflective triangles will be suspended until the appeal is heard.