H. B. 2060

(By Delegates Whitman, Hunt and Faircloth)

[Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary]

[January 17, 1995]

A BILL to amend and reenact sections one and three-a, article six, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to establishing speed limitations generally; defining the misdemeanor offense of driving in excess of the established speed limits, and providing penalties therefor; establishing minimum speed regulations; and defining the misdemeanor offense of driving a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede traffic, and providing penalties therefor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one and three-a, article six, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. SPEED RESTRICTIONS.
§17C-6-1. Speed limitations generally.
(a) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards, then existing. In every event speed shall be so controlled as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person, vehicle, or other conveyance on or entering the highways in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to use due care.
(b) Where no special hazard exists that requires lower speed for compliance with subsection (a) of this section the speed of any vehicle not in excess of the limits specified in this section or established as hereinafter authorized shall be lawful, but any speed in excess of the limits specified in this section or established as hereinafter authorized shall be unlawful.
(1) Fifteen miles per hour when passing a school building or school grounds abutting on a road, street or highway during school recess or while children are going to or leaving school during opening or closing hours. Such speed restriction shall not apply to vehicles traveling on a controlled-access highway which is separated from the school or school grounds by a fence or barrier approved by the state road commissioner;
(2) Twenty-five miles per hour in any business or residence district;
(3) Fifty-five miles per hour on open country highways, except as otherwise provided by this chapter.
The speeds set forth in this section may be altered as authorized in sections two and three of this article.
(c) The driver of every vehicle shall, consistent with the requirements of subsection (a), drive at an appropriate reduced speed when approaching and crossing an intersection or railway grade crossing, when approaching and going around a curve, when approaching a hill crest, when traveling upon any narrow or winding roadway, and when special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.
(d) The speed limit on controlled-access highways and interstate highways, where no special hazard exists that requires a lower speed, shall in no event be lower than fifty- five miles per hour and the speed limits specified in subsection (b) hereof shall not apply.
(e) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars: Provided, That any person who violates the provisions of this section after having been previously convicted under the provisions of this section for a prior offense which occurred within the preceding one year period, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars: Provided, however, That any person who violates the provisions of this section after having been previously convicted under the provisions of this section for two or more prior offenses which occurred within the preceding two year period, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or confined in jail for not more than six months, or both.
§17C-6-3a. Minimum speed regulations.
(a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.
(b) Whenever the commissioner or local authorities within their respective jurisdiction determine on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that slow speeds on any part of the highway consistently impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the commissioner or such local authority may determine and declare a minimum speed limit below which no person shall drive a vehicle except when necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.
(c) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars: Provided, That any person who violates the provisions of this section after having been previously convicted under the provisions of this section for a prior offense which occurred within the preceding one year period, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than two hundred dollars: Provided, however, That any person who violates the provisions of this section after having been previously convicted under the provisions of this section for two or more prior offenses which occurred within the preceding two year period, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or confined in jail for not more than six months, or both.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate jail sentences for first and second offenses of violating speed limitations or minimum speed regulations.