By MOLLY DRYMAN

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE — Louisiana State Police advise motorists to secure loose materials being moved from one place to another that may fly off onto the roadway or there will be a fine.

LSP realizes this is a difficult time of restoring the effected areas of southeast Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but advises motorists carrying loads to properly secure them.

Unsecured material in the back of trucks can create a hazard to other motorists.

LSP outlined a Louisiana revised statute 32:383 stating, …“the load on a vehicle shall not drop, sift, leak, or otherwise escape,”…”any load of garbage, refuse, sludge and other discarded material being transported by a commercial hauler shall be covered while being transported in such a manner as to prevent the load from spilling or dropping from the vehicle,”…”the load on any vehicle shall be securely fastened so as to prevent the covering or load from becoming loose, detached or in any manner a hazard to other users of the highway.”

Violation of this law can lead to fines up to $500, according to LSP TFC Omar Landrum with Troop B.

Landrum advised that everyone locate an official disaster material dumpsite to properly discard their materials because “dumping material along the shoulders of our highways is illegal and an eyesore,” said Landrum.