CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston Police department released the statistics Tuesday of its targeted enforcement over Memorial Day Weekend in work zones.
Officers worked over time to enforce the speed limit of 50 miles per hour, and the results were 110 speeding citations and 40 warnings. Corporal Brian Jones said that motorists continuing to ignore the speed limits led to the crackdown.
“They’re speeding 65 and 70 and they get up to us and they’re still speeding and not slowing down,” Jones said. “So we’re out there with the laser gun and we’ll be out there periodically during the summer.”
Jones said that they did write 40 warnings, so they weren’t trying to write everyone a ticket. The highest speed he said that they recorded was 84 miles per hour. He said the worst of the speeding was entering the city.
“It’s mainly coming into Charleston eastbound, right before the contraflow lane. That’s where people were speeding the most,” Jones said.
He said one of the next projects is to try and reduce speeds on the Eugene Carter Memorial Bridge. In addition to the many speeding violations, one arrest was made for DUI, and two were made for possession of synthetic marijuana.
Officers expect to continue targeted enforcement in work zones on Interstate 64 throughout the summer.