Rebowe not going to ULL
December 19, 2017
Mary Lou Besse
December 20, 2017
Local law enforcement officials are trying to figure out ways to make a dangerous stretch of local roads safer this holiday season.
Captain Frank Besson, the Troop C Commander, attended the Terrebonne Parish Council Meeting last Wednesday and provided some alarming stats about a three-mile strip of road on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Houma.
Besson said in 2015, 172 were injured in 263 wrecks. 2016 fared slightly better with 118 injured in 200 crashes. He said almost 200 more cases are expected this year.
“This small stretch of road, within the whole Troop C area, pretty much takes up about 20 percent of our crashes that we work in our Troop C area,” he said in regard to Martin Luther King Blvd, “Which is a lot.”
This was part of his “Zero for the Holidays” an awareness and enforcement campaign, which began over the Thanksgiving holiday, but will last throughout the New Year’s holidays. The campaign has been run every year since 2001 and as the name suggests, the goal is to avoid fatalities from the Thanksgiving through New Year’s holidays. “We are asking the public to play their part: wear your seatbelt don’t drink and drive, call for a designated driver,” he said, “because if there’s one thing we don’t want, it’s an empty seat at a dinner table for the holidays.”
Besson stressed that the department is aware that during this time the roads receive an influx of drivers, and that these celebrations are frequented with alcohol. He stated that his department takes this matter seriously, that they would enforce the public’s safety in numbers, but asked that the public do its part to ensure safety for everyone.
With that announcement, Besson pivoted to an associated issue that festers throughout the year. According to Besson, most of the crashes on MLK were rear-ends, or right-angle crashes. He went on to state that these incidents occur most often from exiting driveways, or drivers crossing 3 and 4 lanes to make a left-hand turn.
“Most of the people that I talk to travel that road because they have to, not because they want to.” He said, “I think it’s because they realize how dangerous it can be.”
The commander acknowl-
edged that because it was a state highway, it would therefore take state funding to address the problem. Besson also said, the DOTD – the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development – has begun a study of the problem, and that his department was conducting its own study to share with DOTD to seek a solution; furthermore, he will be visiting local legislators to alert them of the significance of this matter. One solution he mentioned was, “a raised median, kind of like Thibodaux with the J-Turns, I think that would help, or like Paradis area” he said, “those suggestions would be great for that roadway.”
Councilman Michel’s, District 4, questioning was reminiscent of a courtroom lawyer, enquiring why the Speed limit was not lower, mentioning that he has asked the DOTD the same question only to receive technical reasons for its lack of alteration. Besson responded with uncertainty, stating that the DOTD determined such issues through their studies; however, in his opinion during the daytime the roads were too congested for vehicles to attain the set speed limits.
Michel proceeded by questioning if Besson had the statistics for accidents involving drivers distracted by texting. Besson apologized for not having that data handy, acknowledged that it was a problem, but one which his department already began increasing their enforcement on, “we upped, in regards to enforcement, 154 percent in regards to enforcement efforts with the texting and the distracted driver,” Besson said, “So we are paying special attention to that.” Michel responded that MLK falls within his district, and requested that Besson contact him with anything he could do to help.
Councilman Navy, District 2, took a different approach to the issue, “I just want to put out a quick point, and you’re right about the accidents on Martian Luther King, but I’m going to take a shot at the Parish Government, or Government period,” he said. He cited the lack of a service lane, or service road, as the cause of the problem. Navy said that he and Trosclair agreed, that constructions being conducted on this road, already experiencing this issue, only served to exacerbate the problem. Navy insisted that without a service lane, or road, the problem would only persist. Besson agreed and said that this would be in his department’s study as one of the methods to best address the problem.
Pulaski, the zoning administrator, compared the MLK Blvd with West Tunnel Blvd, explaining that while MLK probably had slightly more traffic, the two were roughly similar yet Martin Luther King Blvd was plagued with more accidents. “The difference is a raised median,” he said, “it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out what needs to happen on Martian Luther King. It just takes a lot of money to get that to happen.”
Pulaski agreed with the solutions raised, but highlighted the lack of access management. He said that the Parish government would be working on a parish-wide access management plan that would address this issue “holistically” (a new buzz word being thrown around. Oxford dictionary defines this as: “Characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.”).
Councilwoman Duplantis-Prather, District 6, reflected on images from a MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, event.
She mentioned how pictures of lives lost, such as that of an infant, would cause drivers to think twice before driving intoxicated. She wished to pursue an idea, similar to UBER, to allow people to easily find designated drivers.
Councilman Trosclair, District 9, was the first to respond saying that he empathized with Troop C, his son was in law enforcement, and that Besson could count on his support 100 percent.
Trosclair revealed his understanding of the Troop’s dilemma – that while most industries are winding down during holiday season, law enforcement’s work load is picking up. He concluded by thanking all law enforcement for their hard work.
Vehicles drive through Martin Luther King Boulevard during a high-traffic time. Captain Frank Besson, the Troop C Commander, attended the Terrebonne Parish Council meeting last Wednesday and provided stats about the dangers which surround a three-mile strip of road along MLK in Houma.
Louisiana State Police and local lawmakers are trying to make a strip of road in Houma safer after statistics show it’s prone to several traffic accidents a year.
