The Senate Finance Committee approves legislation that would double the fine for speeding on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Senate President Page Cortez is seeking lawmakers’ approval to use cameras to issue speeding tickets based on how fast it takes a vehicle to get from one end to the other.
“If it took you 14 minutes, you were going 80-something miles per hour and you didn’t stop at any of the exits,” said Cortez.
The speed limit on the 18-mile bridge is 60 miles per hour for cars and 55 miles per hour for trucks, so if a car does the speed limit, it should take 18 minutes to get across the bridge. Vehicles that make it across faster than 18 minutes could receive a speeding ticket in the mail.
Cortez’s legislation needed Senate Finance approval because it will cost the state to put up additional speed limit signs and cameras. The Lafayette lawmaker says the goal is to slow motorists down.
“In a perfect world, we hope we lose money on it because everybody is going the speed limit and there are no accidents that would be a perfect scenario is that we put up signs, we pay for them and we get no revenue from them,” said Cortez.
Violators would get two warnings and then face fines for a third violation. Fines would range from $175 to $500. The measure heads to the Senate floor for more consideration.
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