Senator Jay Luneau sponsored a new law that increases traffic fines on people driving below the speed limit in the left lane of a highway.
Motorists will face higher fines for driving below the speed limit in the left lane of a Louisiana highway starting Friday.
A new state law, Act 24 from this year’s legislative session, will require a person driving less than the speed limit to stay in the furthest right lane of a multilane highway. People driving in the left lane must be either passing another vehicle or turning left off the road.
Current law only requires drivers to stay in the righthand lane if they are driving at least 10 mph below the speed limit. Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, sponsored the new statute and said the current restriction has been difficult to enforce and is rarely used.
He hopes the new requirements will garner more compliance.
His new law will also increase traffic fines for people driving too slowly in the left lane. The penalty is going from $100 or up to 30 days in jail to $150 for a first offense, $250 for a second offense within a year of the original offense and $350 or up to 30 days in jail for a third offense within a year of the original offense.
Luneau said he brought the bill because he was stuck behind slow drivers during his two-hour commute between the Capitol in Baton Rouge and his home in Alexandria.
“I think this is something that we all encounter on a weekly basis,” Luneau told lawmakers during a hearing earlier this year.
Slow highway driving is also a safety hazard that causes incidents of road rage, he said.
A handful of lawmakers opposed the proposal.
“I don’t think we need a new reason to pull people over and give them traffic tickets,” Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, said before voting against the bill on the House floor.
Overall, the new law was popular with lawmakers. The Senate approved it with a 35-3 vote and the House favored it 78-16.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, suggested a song from Ludacris, encouraging people to “Get out da way,” become the statute’s new theme music.
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