Drivers in the western part of West Virginia, specifically Cabell county, might do well to pay extra attention while using the I-64. Police just ticketed over 120 drivers during the first day of a sting operation there to combat speeding in a work zone. The five-mile stretch of road has been the subject of some 37 crashes since the start of 2023.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation, specifically the Division of Highways, collaborated with multiple public safety officials as well as state and local law enforcement as part of the sting operation. The span of I-64 targeted starts at 29th Street and ends at the Huntington Mall exit. Initially, reports suggested that it would conclude on Friday.
Considering how lucrative ticketing 120 or more drivers in a day could be, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it continue into the weekend though. Reports say that at least one driver was cited for speeding at 81 mph (130 km/h) in the 55 mph (88 km/h) work zone.
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“Work zone safety is about keeping every worker, every driver, and every passenger safe in every work zone,” said Randy Damron, Work Zone Safety spokesperson for WVDOT. “We each play a role in getting everyone home safe at the end of the day. We’re going to take this concept around the state at various work zones since we have so many going on,” he said to MetroNews.
The reaction online to the sting effort gathered, let’s just say… salty replies. “How about maybe the genius who decided to snarl up i-64 with construction during the day in the middle of the week pull his head out of somewhere,” said one. Another called out the officers for their seemingly hypocritical lack of safety PPE while issuing tickets for driving unsafely. “Where’s there [sic] hard hats and vest?” it said.
According to the Division of Highways, work zones were the site of 800 accidents, 276 injuries, and six deaths in 2022.