Got a traffic camera ticket? New law makes it easier to appeal in Louisiana.

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Now, a new state law has made it much easier to appeal such citations, allowing motorists to beg off camera tickets issued during stormy weather or when someone else is driving their car. It also requires that when automated enforcement takes place in school zones, school districts see a share of the profits. And it seriously restricts the use of handheld automated enforcement devices.

Police are still able to pull drivers over for speeding, but if a town or city wants to use mobile speed cameras that result in a mail-issued citation — rather than a one-on-one interaction with a cop — they face new rules.

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What the law does

Under Cathey’s law, every municipality that uses handheld or stationary traffic cameras must give drivers a chance to appeal those tickets.

If car owners provide a “truthful affidavit” that they were not driving their cars at the time the fine was issued, they can get the fine dropped.

Drivers can also be let off the hook if they were clearing the path for an ambulance, following a police officer’s instructions or driving in hazardous conditions that would make compliance difficult.

In school zones, automated enforcement can only take place one hour before and after school starts and ends. Revenue collected from those zones must be divided between local school districts and government; it is up to those two entities to agree on how to divide the money, Cathey said.

Money collected from other cameras must go toward public safety — except in New Orleans, where it is earmarked for stormwater infrastructure.

But perhaps the law’s most severe restrictions apply to handheld speeding cameras.

Except in school zones, such devices may not be used within one mile of a change in speed limit of 10 miles per hour or more. In addition, municipalities must install 3-foot by 3- foot signs between 500 and 1000 feet from the enforcement activity.

Municipalities that continue to use automated speed enforcement must disclose the revenue they generate when applying for state aid for capital improvement projects.

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