The Senate Transportation unanimously approves a bill that would repeal legislation to install speed cameras on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge on I-10. The bill would also reverse doubling the fine for a speeding ticket. New Iberia Senator Blake Miguez, co-author of the bill, argues residents in his district can’t afford it.
“A private company would be contracted to write speeding tickets that would double the fines for hard working people in my district use the bridge everyday. We’re talking about fines in the range of seven to eight hundred dollars per citation.”
In 2022, a law was passed that called for speed cameras to be installed on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and drivers caught speeding on the bridge would have to pay a fine thats double the regular penalty for speeding. The speeding cameras have yet to be installed.
Miguez believes local law enforcement is the better option to patrol that stretch of roadway.
“They have discretion and can understand what’s going on with the situation when they pull someone over. They can also have probable cause to stop things like sex trafficking and drug trafficking. It’s also great to have police officers present cause it helps deter crime.”
Miguez says if speeding cameras were used, the company operating the cameras gets a majority of the fine money. Not local law enforcement who could use the money.
“Those dollars go towards paying for our court systems, our crime lab, our crime stopper division, our sheriffs, our D.A.’s, our judges who are already struggling to make ends meet in our local criminal justice system to help fight crime.”
Signage on the roadway between Baton Rouge and Lafayette informing motorists of the speed limit and limited use of the left-hand lane by truckers would remain. The measure heads to Senate Floor.
