Solar speed trailer in St. Landry Parish shows frequent speeding
ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Lalond Road in St. Landry Parish is where the sheriff's office placed a solar powered speed trailer to monitor for speeding drivers and finding surprising numbers along the way.
Major Mark LeBlanc with the sheriff's office said that speed trailer gets placed on roadways that get consistent complaints from residents regarding speeding drivers.
The trailer was placed on this roadway from May 5 through June 9. Over that month, 9,684 drivers passed by the speed trailer with 8,031 going over the speed limit.
The speed limit going down the Lalond Road is only 20 miles per hour, yet the highest speed recorded by the trailer is 72 miles per hour.
LeBlanc said the speed trailers are placed on rural roadways rather than major highways because the majority of the people on this road are residents with families.
"When we have rural areas where we have excessive speed, that's even more critical." LeBlanc said. "You may have pets, you may have children, you may have other pedestrians. Usually, the rural roads are not as expansive, may have curves, may have blind spots, and you have to be concerned about the hazards of people entering the roadways from a private driveway or another roadway. So, all of those heighten the risk potential.
LeBlanc said the trailers also keep track of the times that drivers are passing by at high speeds so they can know when the most efficient time would be to send deputies to monitor for speeding drivers. With the new data released, deputies hope drivers will be more cautious with their speed and make the surrounding community safer.