West Virginia’s Small City Balks at Restriction on Radar Use

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Benwood, West Virginia Police Chief Frank Longwell is calling for changes to a state law regarding radar after his city lost state funding for speed enforcement.

The law doesn’t allow police in Class IV municipalities, those with populations of 2,000 or less, to use only radar as primary evidence to obtain speeding convictions.

Earlier this month, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program pulled its speed enforcement funds from Benwood. The move was prompted by a complaint regarding Benwood officers’ use of radar on West Virginia Route 2, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reported.

Longwell said he will lead efforts to have the law amended.

“It does not make sense that certified officers cannot run radar in small towns, but they can in larger ones,” he told the newspaper.

He said the issue is under legal review.

Longwell said his department will continue running radar on the highway. But the officers will have to use other factors as backup evidence, such as visually tracking a vehicle’s speed and watching a vehicle’s behavior in passing other motorists.

“Route 2 will become a killing zone if you take law enforcement off the highway,” the police chief told the newspaper.

Having to use other factors as evidence will make the city’s ability to defend a contested speeding ticket more difficult, he said.

If necessary, Longwell said the police department would add a line item to its budget to fund extra speed controls.

“If someone contests a speeding ticket, we will have to give more information to prove our case,” he said.

Longwell said Benwood remains qualified for other state funding for initiatives involving seat belt, cellphone and DUI patrols and other highway safety programs.