Montgomery, AL – Motorists going over the speed limit on interstate highways would have to watch out for local police if a bill passed by the Alabama Senate on Thursday becomes law.
The measure would allow law enforcement from municipalities with fewer than 19,000 residents to enforce the speed limit on interstate highways, which is something they are currently unable to do.
Sponsor Sen. Gerald Dial, a Lineville Republican, says those small town police departments are currently being treated like second-class citizens.
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Democrat from Birmingham, says the reason small towns were forbidden from policing the interstate was because they ran excessive speed traps before the highway system was created.
The Senate approved the measure 21-1 with Smitherman voting in favor of the measure.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)