CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Over the next few weeks as you travel the highways of West Virginia, you’ll want to pay very close attention to your speedometer. West Virginia State Police along with county and local law enforcement will all have an increased presence on the roadway and will be specifically looking for speeding violations. It’s part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s annual effort to encourage drivers to obey posted speed limits for safety.
“We take part in increased speed enforcement in all counties across the state. Between July 11th and 27th we’ll have an increased patrol on the roadway,” said West Virginia State Police Sgt. Kyle Totten.
The special detail is to discourage speeding which is a major cause of accidents on the roadways. It’s also a deadly proposition.
“NHSTA reported in 2023 there were almost 12,000 fatal car crashes in the country. Out of those, 29 percent had speed as the greatest contributing factor,” Totten added.
Totten said the patrols could be anywhere. Whether on the busiest stretch of interstate or a rural road in the middle of a county, they’ll be watching for speeders. He added as part of this particular program, there won’t be very much tolerance.
“People need to be aware when we’re working these kinds of imitative there’s going to be a higher degree of citations than warnings. That’s to try and burn it into the public’s mindset that we have to be stringent and strict when public safety is the goal,” he said.