City-Parish Council to Discuss Red Light Cams Tonight
You could face stiffer penalties if you don't pay your Safe-Light Safe-Speed ticket.
The Lafayette City-Parish Council will vote tonight on several aspects of the program. The City-Parish Government is owed millions and they want to crack down and make people pay.
Everyday traffic cameras capture drivers either speeding or running red lights at twelve intersections throughout the city. Lafayette Consolidated Government is owed more than five million dollars in fines and they're tired of getting the run around when it comes to drivers paying up.
"There are things in it that I think everybody understands needs to be tweaked a little bit," said City-Parish President Joey Durel.
If the council approves, driver's who don't pay their fines could be sent to a collection agency. If the fine still isn't paid, driver's could face lawsuits and go to court.
"Good people who aren't particularly in favor of the program pay their citations while others refuse to play by all the rules the rest of society play by," said Durel.
Lafayette Resident Kirk Lastrapes believes the safe-light safe-speed program is working and drivers who get caught need to pay up. "It's like taking a test. If one person has to take a test than everyone should have to take it," said Lastrapes.
His sentiments also echoed by Lauren Griffen who said, "They probably should have paid it before it got that bad. It's kind of crazy if they didn't. It's just $25, go pay it."
Collecting fines may not be easy. Depending how old the violation is and the time it would take to prosecute, the case could be beyond the statute of limitations.
"I can assure you we will do everything that we can to make sure there are consequences for those who don't play by the rules and we do justice for the good people of Lafayette," said Durel.
The City Parish Council meeting starts at 5:30 tonight at L.C.G. Right now construction is pending on 17 more Safe-Light, Safe-Speed sites.
Chris Welty
cwelty@katctv.com
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