LPSO cracks down on speeders

The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office is stepping up patrols to curb the recent spike in vehicle crashes, warned spokesman Larry Weidel.

Since Jan. 1, there have been 1,146 crashes on Lafourche Parish roads. Of those, 22 resulted in 25 deaths – matching the parish’s entire number of fatalities for 2007.

“In my 28 years of law enforcement experience, I have not seen a period of time where more injuries and fatalities have been reported than in the first half of this year,” said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre.

By targeting speeders and reckless drivers, Weidel said the sheriff’s office hopes to see those numbers drop drastically.

“Visibility is the key factor,” he said. “If they know that we are out there, speeders are less likely to violate the speed limit and people are more likely to make sure that they have everything they need in their car just in case they stumble on a checkpoint.”

The increased summer patrols will be paid for in part with a $30,000 grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. “These new funds we have received, along with the monies we have for highway safety enforcement, will allow us to use additional personnel through September to protect our driving public,” Webre said.

He is also asking the public to be aware of motorists and report violations. “Call 911 if you see a driver who is impaired or is a potential risk to other motorists,” Webre said.

Highway safety enforcement patrols have been assigned to U.S. Highway 90, the sheriff said, where the largest number of fatalities and speeding tickets were recorded.

But, Webre admits, the problems aren’t limited to any one area.

“We see a lot of speeders passing cars, particularly in the southern part of the parish where the roadways are crowded with large trucks on two-lane highways that give motorists very little room for error,” he said.

In May, Lafourche Parish experienced 11 highway fatalities. “That’s too many accidents from careless people being on the roadways,” Weidel said.

The sheriff’s office will also team up with state police and local law enforcement agencies to conduct checkpoint sites. Authorities will be checking for valid proof of insurance and motor vehicle inspection stickers as well as seat belt violations.

One recent checkpoint netted 41 violations, Weidel said.

“There were more than 2,500 cars that passed through our checkpoints,” he said. “Many of the violators where cited for no insurance, seat belts, expired motor vehicle stickers or licensed plates, failure to carry registration papers in the vehicle and for violating the open container law.”