ST. MARTIN PARISH — Residents of St. Martinville have raised concerns about the speed enforcement cameras and flashers installed near St. Martinville Primary and Senior High, questioning their functionality and the accuracy of tickets issued. The main issue centers on the failure of the signs to turn on during school zone hours, leading to confusion about the appropriate speed limits. Drivers have reported receiving speeding tickets even though they believe they were not in a school zone.
The speed enforcement cameras and flashers were installed in October, but issues with the system began shortly thereafter. Mike Fuselier, St. Martinville councilman, explained that he has received several complaints from constituents about the cameras ticketing drivers outside of designated school zone hours. The school zone speed limit is enforced between 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
"I have for the last month been bringing my concerns from constituents to the chief of police that the hours were not properly marked or I should say not properly followed," Fuselier said.
Fuselier added, “I brought several personally to the chief, I said look, these times are after four o'clock. I don’t know what these cameras are doing, but they’re not doing right.”
Police Chief Martin confirmed that the system's flashers, which are supposed to signal when the school zone is in effect, were malfunctioning due to battery issues. This led to drivers believing the school zone was not in session even when it was.
"I think the battery issue caused the biggest stir because it affects the flashers, so when people were coming in, if it wasn't flashing, they were like, ‘Well, the school zone is not in session,’ but the time it is," Martin explained.
Furthermore, Mark Hutchinson, the CEO of Blue Line Solutions—the third-party company responsible for installing the cameras and flashers—confirmed that there were issues with the old flashers not being removed after the new ones were installed. This led to additional confusion among drivers about when the school zone was in effect.
According to Hutchinson, there was an old set of flashers that wouldn’t flash at the correct times that weren’t removed after the new ones were installed, which led to confusion.
Chief Martin also confirmed that issues with the system were apparent in the early stages of installation in October. In response, the St. Martinville Police Department issued a statement on Tuesday, announcing that the school zone cameras would be temporarily shut down until the issues were resolved.
To read the full statement, click here.
"The fix for that is, they're gonna run the power directly to the flashers instead, just bypass the solar,” Chief Martin explained. "Whether the sign's up and things are working, people just need to drive safely."
For those who received citations outside of the designated school zone hours, Chief Martin stated that the police department is addressing the issue. "If they receive a citation outside of the time, we send it back to the company and they have to void it out because it's not a correct citation," Martin added. Fuselier thanks the chief for addressing the issue and the flashers are expected to be fully operational by Friday. The school zone cameras will be reactivated once the system is updated and the solar panels are fixed.
As residents await the resolution of these issues, Chief Martin emphasized that the simplest solution to avoiding tickets is to adhere to speed limits and drive safely. “The easiest solution is just not to speed because if nobody’s speeding, then we won’t have any issues,” he said.
