§47. Use of speed recording devices; restrictions

            A. Automated speed enforcement devices or mobile speed cameras that are used to issue a citation of an alleged violation by mail shall only be used by local municipal authorities or local parish authorities in the following instances:

            (1) The device or camera is being operated by a trained member of law or traffic enforcement that are sworn or P.O.S.T.-certified. Deputized agents, contractors, subcontractors of an agency, office, local municipality, local authority, or any political subdivision of this state are strictly prohibited from operating handheld or manned devices for the purpose of issuing a citation violation by mail.

            (2) The device or camera is in a school zone lawfully posted in accordance with this Subsection.

            (3) There are forty-eight-inch by forty-eight-inch signs, the bottom of which shall be at least seven feet from the ground, indicating that a device or camera is present, no less than five hundred feet and no more than one thousand feet before the device or camera, in a manner as to be clearly visible to approaching traffic. The signs shall be bright yellow and shall read "Photo enforcement devices at use".

            (4)(a) Upon entrance to any school zone equipped with automated speed enforcement devices, the word "SCHOOL" shall be proportionately striped across the lane adjacent to the S1-1 school sign and the lettering shall be white in color in accordance with the current edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The word "SCHOOL" shall not be required on nonasphaltic, nonconcrete roads, or any roads determined unsuitable by the appropriate state agency.

            (b) Pavement markings installed before August 1, 2026, on a roadway not in the state highway system and in compliance with R.S. 32:47(A)(4) and (5) as in effect before August 1, 2026, shall satisfy the pavement-marking requirements of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph until the roadway is resurfaced or the markings are otherwise replaced.

            (5) Repealed by Acts 2026, No. 492, §2.

            (6) Local municipal authorities or local parish authorities shall post signs, indicating that an automated speed enforcement device camera is present, within two hundred feet of the school zone, in such a manner as to be clearly visible to traffic approaching the school zone.

            (7)(a) If a device or camera is used while in an authorized vehicle, the authorized vehicle shall be clearly marked as a law enforcement vehicle.

            (b) If a device or camera is used by a traffic or law enforcement officer while not in a vehicle, the officer shall wear a reflective vest, clearly indicating that the officer is law enforcement or that the officer is conducting speed enforcement measures.

            B. Criminal fines or fees shall not be imposed as a result of automated speed enforcement devices or mobile speed cameras for the purpose of issuing a citation violation by mail, nor shall failure to pay the citation result in reporting to any credit bureaus.

            C. In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the use of handheld, manned, or unmanned automated speed enforcement devices or mobile speed cameras that can be mounted in a vehicle or deployed at various locations to monitor and record the speed of passing traffic for the purpose of issuing a citation of an alleged violation by mail intentionally inconsistent with R.S. 32:43 et seq. shall be punishable as provided for in R.S. 14:134.

            Acts 2024, No. 103, §1, eff. May 21, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 107, §2; Acts 2026, No. 492, §§1,2.