Speed kills. That's one message members of the St. Martinville Police Department is trying to share with the community.
SMPD is implementing a new, automated device to catch people speeding on the roads.
Lakiedra Yeggins said she is a mother to three children and has been living in St. Martinville for more than 16 years.
She said she is not opposed to police cracking down.
"A lot of cars that are speeding, they're not really focusing on where they're going so the kids could be in the road and stuff so I think it would really help," Yeggins said.
Sergeant Brad LeBlanc from SMPD said this new feature came about following the uptick in traffic accidents over the last few years.
"It [light-based radar system] sends out a beam of light, targets a certain vehicle where you have it pointed and then the light waves come back and ultimately supply you with the speed," LeBlanc said. "The distances vary from where the vehicle can capture, depending on certain conditions."
However, Yeggins said she believes sometimes speeding tickets are not enough to stop people from breaking the law.
"Honestly, sometimes I think they need more than a ticket," Yeggins said. "Sometimes, a ticket to some of them it doesn't even effect them. So, I think they should go a little further than tickets to be honest."
Mark Pratt is also a resident in St. Martinville and a retired carpenter. He said he hopes police officers consider giving drivers warnings, before issuing tickets.
"Things have been kind of slow in St. Martinville so they kind of got careless," Pratt said. "Maybe with a little, bit more appreciation to our public friendship among each other, maybe the city would grant them favoritism and do more stops and give them tickets...not really, warnings and let them [drivers] know from here on forward, we will be under this ordinance, administration that is suitable for any city."
According to Sergeant LeBlanc, citations will start going out in the mail on April 29. However, officers are using the new devices now for warnings during the "trial period."
