Senate Bill No. 283
(By Senators Bailey, Love and Dittmar)
____________
[Introduced February 1, 1996; referred to the Committee on
Transportation.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article six, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to traffic
regulations, laws of the road; speed restrictions; designating
a minimum speed limit for the passing lane on interstate
highways; and providing a misdemeanor penalty for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article six, chapter seventeen-c of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. SPEED RESTRICTIONS.
§17C-6-1. Speed limitations generally; penalties for violation
of speed limits in school zones.
(a) No person may drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed
greater than is reasonable and prudent under the existing
conditions and the actual and potential hazards. 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 is lawful, but any speed
in excess of the limits specified below in this subsection or
established as hereinafter authorized is unlawful.
(1) Fifteen miles per hour in a school zone during school
recess or while children are going to or leaving school during
opening or closing hours. A school zone is all school property
including school grounds and any street or highway abutting such
school grounds and extending one hundred twenty-five feet along
such street or highway from the school grounds. Such speed restriction does 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) of this section, 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 be not less than fifty-five miles per hour and
the speed limits specified in subsection (b) of this section do not
apply:
Provided, That the minimum speed for driving in the left
lane, or passing lane, on an interstate highway shall be fifty-five
miles per hour. Any person who violates this minimum speed limit
is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined fifty dollars and court costs.
(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:
Provided
further, That any person who violates subdivision (1), subsection
(b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or shall be fined not
less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars
and confined in jail for not more than six months, or both, for a
violation of said subdivision after having been previously
convicted for one or more violations of said subdivision which
occurred within the preceding two-year period.
(f) If an owner or driver is arrested under the provisions of
this section for the offense of driving above the posted speed
limit on a controlled access highway or interstate highway, and if
the evidence shall show that the motor vehicle was being operated
at less than ten miles per hour above said speed limit, then, upon
conviction thereof, such person shall be fined not more than five
dollars, plus court costs.
If an owner or driver is convicted under the provisions of
this section for the offense of driving above the speed limit on a
controlled access highway or interstate highway of this state, and
if the evidence shall show that the motor vehicle was being
operated at less than ten miles per hour above said speed limit,
then notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article three,
chapter seventeen-b of this code, a certified abstract of the
judgment on such conviction shall not be transmitted to the
division of motor vehicles.
If an owner or driver is convicted in another state for the
offense of driving above the maximum speed limit on a controlled
access highway or interstate highway, and if the maximum speed
limit in such other state is less than the maximum speed limit for
a comparable controlled access highway or interstate highway in
this state, and if the evidence shall show that the motor vehicle
was being operated at less than ten miles per hour above what would
be the maximum speed limit for a comparable controlled access
highway or interstate highway in this state, then notwithstanding
the provisions of section four, article three, chapter seventeen-b of this code, a certified abstract of the judgment on such
conviction shall not be transmitted to the division of motor
vehicles, or, if transmitted, shall not be recorded by the
division, unless within a reasonable time after conviction, the
person convicted has failed to pay all fines and costs imposed by
the other state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a minimum
speed limit of 55 miles per hour for driving in the left hand or
passing lane on interstate highways. It provides a fine of $50.00
for violations, plus court costs.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.