Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:295.4 – Guidelines for seat belt, motor vehicle inspection, and motor vehicle liability security checkpoints; law enforcement agencies
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:295.4
- Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place of whatever nature publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, including bridges, causeways, tunnels and ferries; synonymous with the word "street". See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Intersection: means : The area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines, or, if none, then the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways which join one another at, or approximately at, right angles, or the area within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Length: means the total longitudinal dimension of a single vehicle, a trailer, or a semi-trailer. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Motor vehicle: means every vehicle which is self-propelled, and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, but excluding a motorized bicycle and an electric-assisted bicycle. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Seat belt: means the manual restraint system installed by the manufacturer as required by Federal Motor Vehicle Standard No. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Stop: means , when required, the complete cessation from movement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- stopping: means , when prohibited, any halting, even momentarily of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer, weights and standards police officer, or traffic control sign or signal. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
- Vehicle: means every device by which persons or things may be transported upon a public highway or bridge, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:1
All law enforcement agencies involved in traffic enforcement shall establish guidelines for the operation of seat belt checkpoints, motor vehicle inspection checkpoints, or proof of compulsory motor vehicle liability security checkpoints. Such guidelines shall include but not be limited to the following provisions:
(1) The location, time, and duration for seat belt, motor vehicle inspection, or compulsory motor vehicle liability security checkpoints shall be established in written form by supervisory or other administrative personnel of the law enforcement agency rather than the field officers implementing the checkpoint.
(2) For purposes of motor vehicle inspections, the location of the checkpoint shall not be less than five hundred feet from an intersection between a state and federal highway.
(3) Provision for advance warning to the approaching motorists with signs, flares, and other indications to warn motorists of an impending stop and to provide indication of its official nature as a police checkpoint.
(4) Provisions to ensure detention of motorists for a minimal length of time.
(5) The use of systematic, nonrandom criteria for stopping motorists.
(6) Provisions prohibiting the establishment of checkpoints where the only vehicles subject to or targeted for inspection are motorcycles, as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 32:1.
Acts 2003, No. 374, §1; Acts 2014, No. 439, §1; Acts 2014, No. 301, §1; Acts 2014, No. 439, §1.