A House bill that would permit motorcyclists to stand upright in their vehicles passed the chamber Wednesday after an amendment to the bill was shot down the day prior.
Motorcyclists could soon be permitted to stand upright on their vehicles while traveling on West Virginia roadways — if the state’s upper legislative chamber agrees with a Wednesday decision from the West Virginia House of Delegates.
House Bill 2752 would permit motorcyclists to stand on their vehicles while facing forward and keeping their feet on its pedals or footpegs. Proposed by Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, the bill passed the House by a vote of 80 to 17, and now heads to the West Virginia Senate for further consideration.
“This isn’t the ability to stand and do tricks or anything,” Hess Crouse said on the House floor Wednesday.
Hess Crouse said the bill would permit riders to stand on their vehicles when needed for safety and performance purposes, like when roadway visibility is blocked or when rough terrain requires shock absorption.
Standing helps with “avoiding potholes and everything,” plus “cooling and air flow,” she said.
But Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said focus on the bill reflects misplaced priorities in the legislative chamber.
“Well, vroom vroom, West Virginia! Another hard-hitting piece of legislation here in the West Virginia House of Delegates,” he said. “Wow! Addressing standing while driving a motorcycle.”
The bill’s passage comes on the heels of a lengthy debate Tuesday over an amendment that would have made helmet usage optional for motorcyclists over age 21. That amendment was voted down.
The West Virginia House of Delegates voted down a bill amendment Tuesday that would have made helmets optional for motorcyclists over age 21.
Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates have upheld the state’s requirement that motorcyclists wear helmets while operating their vehicles.
Current state law requires motorcyclists to wear a helmet and maintain “a seated position facing forward” in their vehicles. But House Bill 2752 would permit motorcyclists to stand up “with both feet on the vehicle’s footpegs or pedals” while maneuvering through West Virginia roadways.
Proposed by Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, the bill is scheduled for a third reading on the House floor Wednesday. But a proposed amendment brought early debate to the bill from lawmakers Tuesday afternoon.
Del. Dave Foggin, R-Wood, introduced an amendment to the bill that would have removed helmet requirements for motorcyclists over age 21. Current state law requires all motorcyclists to wear protective headgear, regardless of age.
Foggin described his amendment as an effort to uphold personal choice for motorcyclists.
“It’s about the personal choice for an adult to wear a helmet when they’re riding a motorcycle,” Foggin said.
Other lawmakers, like Del. John Paul Hott, R-Grant, disagreed. Hott saw the policy not as a matter of personal liberty, but of personal safety.
Hott also said that helmet usage from motorcyclists creates safer roadways for everyone, and alleged that less safe road conditions could result in increased vehicle insurance rates for West Virginia drivers.
“If you want to see us become at a greater disadvantage in this great state to neighboring states who have substantially low auto and motorcycle rights, implement this amendment that’s before you,” Hott said.
Concerns over the amendment ultimately won out. Following the discussion, 54 delegates voted to reject Foggin’s amendment, whereas only 41 voted to adopt it.
A narrower version of House Bill 2752 pertaining just to standing while operating a motorcycle will still proceed for a further review from members of the House.
All lanes of Interstate 79 South near the Goshen Road exit between Fairmont and Morgantown are back open following quick repair to damage caused by an acid spill.
A tractor-trailer carrying a strong acid overturned in a work zone near the Goshen Road Exit at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. No one was injured, but a large amount of acid was spilled on the roadway.
Following hazardous material crews cleaning up the acid, crews worked around the clock to dig up and repave about 500 feet of asphalt. The acid severely damaged the road. The road reopened at approximately 2:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.
Original Story
A tractor-trailer overturned on Interstate 79 South between Monongalia and Marion counties, spilling strong acid onto the highway and halting traffic.
All lanes of traffic are currently closed near the I-79 Goshen Road exit, just south of Morgantown. The area will remain closed until Friday or Saturday, according to a Thursday press release from the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT).
The spill occurred around 1 p.m. Wednesday. No injuries have been reported, but crews are still cleaning up the hazardous material.
Earl Gaskins, who oversees the region as a local district manager for the West Virginia Division of Highways, said in the Thursday press release that the acid severely damaged the roadway.
Crews must dig up and repave 500 feet of asphalt along the southbound lanes, he said.
The WVDOT said the area will remain closed to traffic for 24 to 48 hours. For the time being, drivers will be detoured off the highway near the Goshen Road highway, then rerouted back onto I-79.
For live updates on the status of major West Virginia roadways, visit the WVDOT’s WV511 informational webpage.
A bill that would restrict “rolling coal” — a form of protest in which drivers release thick clouds of smog from there vehicles — advanced in the West Virginia Senate on Monday, but not without pushback from some lawmakers.
A controversial bill that would prohibit “rolling coal” on roadways advanced in the West Virginia Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Monday — but not without pushback from some lawmakers.
Rolling coal refers to modifying diesel fuel in a motor vehicle in order to pollute the air with thick, dark smog. For years, rolling coal on highways has served as a display of allegiance to the coal industry in spite of mounting environmentalist pushback.
Elsewhere in the United States, lawmakers have restricted the form of protest in light of environmental, health and safety concerns associated with emitting a pollutant into the air.
Now, West Virginia legislators are considering their own restrictions on the practice. The West Virginia Senate is actively reviewing Senate Bill 436, which would render the contentious form of protest a misdemeanor.
The bill reached the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Monday, where discussions focused on the safety risk associated with reduced visibility on West Virginia roads.
Sponsored by Sen. Jack Woodrum, R-Summers, the bill penalizes deliberately selling, making or using diesel additives to produce “visible smoke emissions.” It would apply to all motorized vehicles on public roadways, but not on private land.
The bill passed through the committee Monday but drew pushback from senators who described it as a crackdown on pro-coal West Virginians, or an unnecessary piece of legislation to focus on.
Rolling coal refers to the deliberate emission of thick, black smog from a motor vehicle. Credit: toa555/Adobe Stock
Sen. Robert Karnes, R-Randolph, was an outspoken critic of the bill during Monday’s meeting. Karnes alleged the pending law would suppress some West Virginians’ right to protest.
“People who are doing this rolling coal are simply expressing their support for West Virginia’s coal industry,” Karnes said. “This is an attack on people who support our coal industry.”
“We may not like that particular statement,” he continued. “But they have a right to express their political views.”
Others who voted to advance the bill said that, regardless of their own perceptions of the protests, the law would not mark a clear enough suppression of coal supporters’ rights to preclude it from further consideration.
“I don’t see this as an anti-coal bill,” said Sen. Glen Jeffries, R-Putnam.
Regardless, members of the committee agreed to scale back penalties for those who violate the law.
Under an earlier draft of the bill, repeat rolling coal offenders could face up to six months imprisonment. The committee deemed this excessive, and amended the bill so that violators would only incur fines up to $500.
With the committee’s approval, the amended bill will now return to the Senate where lawmakers will determine whether to send it to the House of Delegates.
The West Virginia Senate advanced legislation that would crack down on slow driving in the left lane of an interstate highway.
Updated on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 at 5:26 p.m.
A new bill advancing through the West Virginia Senate aims to ensure slow drivers steer clear of the left lane.
On Monday, the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced Senate Bill 441, which would penalize drivers for traveling at an unsafely slow speed in the leftmost lane of a four-lane interstate highway.
The bill would affect 25 different roadways in West Virginia, each of which would receive signage to notify drivers of the law. Committee Attorney Marey Casey said the bill was based on legislation in other states, including Arkansas.
Under the bill, driving too slowly in the left lane would be classified as a misdemeanor, and punishable by fines of $100 for first offense, or $200 for each subsequent offense within a year.
Unsafe driving is not defined in a numerical, miles-per-hour manner in the bill. Instead, it describes the offense as driving slowly enough “to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.” Ultimately, law enforcement officials would determine whether an individual drives at a slow enough speed to commit the offense.
Still, the bill makes exceptions for some circumstances, like when drivers pass one another, navigate around highway construction, or seek to avoid dangerous road conditions.
The bill passed through the committee with no pushback, and will be referred back to the Senate for a first reading.
**Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story said the bill had been referred to the full Senate on third reading. This was incorrect. The bill has been sent to the Senate and is expected to be on first reading.
An estimated 710,000 drivers will pass through the West Virginia Turnpike toll booths over the six day Thanksgiving holiday period.
An estimated 710,000 drivers will pass through the West Virginia Turnpike toll booths over the six day Thanksgiving holiday period.
Like the rest of the country, Wednesday and Sunday are expected to be the busiest of the six turnpike holiday travel days.
Parkways Authority Executive Director Jeff Miller said motorists should watch for traffic flaggers at the toll booths. He suggested those drivers without an EZ Pass move to the right lanes with the $4.25 required toll at hand.
“Don’t just stay on that left side and help disperse the traffic evenly throughout all the tolling booths,” Miller said. “We always encourage everyone to participate in our EZ Pass program. Not only is it a great discount offered at $26.25 a year for unlimited travel, but it really does provide for the fastest throughput of traffic through the tolling facilities, and really benefits everyone, even on our operations side of the process.”
Miller said if you need assistance on the turnpike, dial star (*) S-P, and a courtesy patrol member or a state police cruiser will be there within minutes.
“If you happen to run out of gas, we’ll get you a little bit of gas to get you off an exit to get filled up or if you have a flat tire,” Miller said. “It’s just such a busy time of year and there’s so much traffic that we just absolutely do not want anybody to be stuck on the side of the roadway while they’re trying to get to their friends or family to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner – or upon their return.”
Miller requested that motorists who exit the turnpike toll booths, exercise patience, caution and respect for other drivers who are merging back into regular traffic.
“Be cognizant of the speed limit signs as you go through the tolling facilities and try not to cut anybody off,” he said.
Miller said there are no construction projects on the turnpike planned for this time of year.
“There’s a requirement that traffic construction must be picked up or completed right before Thanksgiving to allow for use of the roadway,” he said. “If there is anything that does occur, just know that it is on an emergency basis and something that has to be done right away.”
Miller said West Virginia drivers can stop by the Beckley EZ Pass center or our Charleston EZ Pass center and sign up for a pass on Tuesday, and it would be activated and ready for use on Wednesday.
To get an EZ Pass, or to renew an existing EZ Pass online, click HERE. In person EZ Pass applications can be made at the West Virginia Parkways Authority EZ Pass Customer Service Center, 3310 Piedmont Road in Charleston, or at the Beckley Customer Service Center located at 12 Pikeview Drive, Beckley.
