House votes to crack down on drivers swerving past other cars at red lights

Published: March 23, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. — Have you been stopped at a red light only to have a reckless driver swerve past you on the shoulder and run the light?

The Louisiana House advanced a bill Monday by Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, to stop such behavior. House Bill 487 would institute a $250 fine for drivers using the shoulder or a turning lane to zip past other cars stopped at red lights.

If the reckless driver caused others to be injured or killed, the fines would range up to $5,000. Additional consequences for death as a result of the violation would be imprisonment for no more than a year and the additional threat of a suspended license for 365 days.

“Bad drivers don’t always get into accidents, but they sure do cause a lot of them,” Bayham said in an interview. “That’s what my bill is about: public safety.”

Read more at KTBS.