A new Louisiana law makes it easier to appeal traffic citations from speeding cameras. State Senator Stewart Cathey, R-Monroe, said he wrote the law because of complaints that speeding camera companies were giving drivers tickets without input from local police. “They said, ‘hey, we’ve got people unlicensed, no form of law enforcement out here writing tickets using handheld speed devices. We want the things gone.’”
The law, approved by legislators as Senate Bill 302, went into effect in May. It allows drivers to appeal tickets from traffic cameras by proving there were outside issues involved, like if someone else was driving their car or if there were hazardous driving conditions, which includes stormy weather. The legislation also stipulates that when automated enforcement happens within school zones school districts must also receive a share of the revenue.
As reported by the Louisiana Radio Network (LRN), Cathey says now if you get a ticket from a traffic camera, “it doesn’t go on your driving record, it has no impact at the OMV, they can’t suspend your license for not paying them… there’s really nothing they can do if you don’t pay.”
The measure is largely viewed as a compromise, since there was a push to outlaw traffic enforcement cameras. State Senator Alan Seabaugh, R-Many, filed Senate Bill 21 in late February, ahead of the 2024 regular legislative session in Baton Rouge. Specifically, the bill would have banned the use of automated speed enforcement devices, mobile speed cameras and red-light cameras. But SB21 died in committee.
