Starting today, speeding fines are doubled on the Interstate 10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge if motorists are caught going above the 60 mile per hour speed limit for vehicles and 55 miles per hour for commercial trucks. State Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says in 2023 speed cameras will be installed to track drivers.
“We will be promulgating in rules that allow for a notification of speeding, than warning of speeding and then a violation that will follow on the third time,” said Wilson.
In June, Governor John Bel Edwards signed a law that designates the 18-mile Atchafalaya Basin as a highway safety corridor. Wilson says the legislation also calls for signage restricting trucks to the right lane and eight sets of speed limit signs.
“So in advance of cameras you will actually get notification signs that speak to the actual speed that you are driving, so we can start to build into your mindset an awareness that hey you are doing 80 miles per hour,” said Wilson.
There were over 200 crashes that resulted in two deaths and nearly 100 injuries on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge last year. Senate President Page Cortez says that’s double the number than 20 years ago as distracted driving and speeding has become more common.
Wilson says the goal of the beefed up enforcement and higher fines is get people to slow down.
“We are not looking to gouge people this is about driver behavior,’ said Wilson.
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