SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Don’t be surprised if you spot a trooper in the median when you cross that rise on the Interstate over the course of the next few weeks. West Virginia State Police will be patrolling areas of the state a little more heavily thanks to funding from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
The funding is in the form of federal grants aimed at highway safety. The money is specifically earmarked for speed enforcement and that’s exactly how it will be applied according to Sgt. Eric McClung at the State Police headquarters in South Charleston.
“They call them ‘blitz periods’ or ‘program periods’ and this September from the 6th through the 22nd State Police will be conducting speed enforcement all over the state,” said McClung.
There are no specific areas targeted for the program. McClung said the location of the patrols will be left to the discretion of each local detachment commander who has the best handle on where speeding is the biggest problem.
“We could be anywhere, we’ll be leaving that up to each individual county or detachment to find their target areas, problem roadways, or high speed corridors,” he said.
The grant funding will be used to pay the overtime of additional troopers on the road participating in the enforcement.
McClung noted the focus isn’t on the fine, but on safety.
“Everybody is in a hurry nowadays to get where they’re going. They just don’t pay attention and speed is ultimately one of the biggest factors in crashes and fatality crashes. Speed is always a contributing factor in those accidents,” he explained.