West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program Announces Speed Enforcement Action

(Police Reports – Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program is reminding drivers to stay within the posted speed limit ahead of a statewide high visibility period that law enforcement agencies are to conduct beginning today and lasting through Sept. 22. In West Virginia in 2022, 27% of all traffic fatalities were speed-related, and 16% of all traffic fatalities involved motorcyclists, according to a news release from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
“Speed limit signs are not suggestions, they are the law” said Jack McNeely, program director. “They are put in place for the safety of the driver and others in that particular area. Unfortunately, law enforcement sees people speeding every day, especially young men. If you die in an accident or kill someone else, that’s it – there’s no second chance. Speeding is just not worth the risk.”
Speeding limits a driver’s ability to safely avoid another vehicle, a dangerous object or an unexpected turn. Even the safest cars with the latest technology are limited in how much they can help reduce the likelihood of a crash, the release said. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, local roads are more dangerous for speeders than highways. In 2022, 87% of all speeding-related traffic fatalities in the U.S. occurred on routes other than interstate highways.
“We ask drivers to slow down” McNeely said. “Our goal is to save lives and we are putting all drivers on alert — the speed limit is the law. No excuses.”

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