The uniformed officers of the Public Service Commission’s Transportation Division crisscross our highways daily to protect drivers.
They inspect tractor-trailers to ensure these large vehicles meet roadway safety standards, comply with all laws applicable to them, and maintain proper weight limitations.
You often see our officers’ silver vehicles by the roadside, at mobile weigh stations, or at interstate medians.
We are also responsible for inspecting coal trucks and their haulage network to ensure they meet proper state safety standards.
While our officers patrol all roads in this state, they pay particular attention to the interstate highway system, which carries the bulk of tractor-trailers that travel in West Virginia. They also concentrate on a system of roads in southern West Virginia, which are the primary routes used by coal trucks.
In addition to their regular duties, our officers are frequently found on the front lines assisting the State Police and other officers in what I would call high-alert highway situations.
These matters could involve dangerous work-zone traffic areas, times when police are placing a special emphasis on enforcing seat-belt laws, when they are pressing ahead on sustained efforts to cut down on impaired driving, and special speeding enforcement, particularly along the Interstate-81 corridor in Berkeley County.
Three of our officers will soon appear in an enforcement advertisement produced by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. That same group awarded our officers eighth place last year for speed enforcement activities and fifth for seat-belt enforcement efforts in the state.
Our officers participate in the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, around-the-clock, 72-hour International Roadcheck, and Brake Safety Week.
We have two officers trained as human trafficking outreach coordinators who stop and search trucks and other vehicles to make sure human trafficking is not taking place in this state.
Commission officers conduct outreach with motor carriers, where they meet with them and teach the fundamentals of safe driving and record keeping. They also go into high schools in partnership with Virginia Tech’s Share the Road Program to teach students about sharing our roads with commercial motor vehicles.
These dedicated Transportation Division officers are all about your safety.
I am extremely proud of this vast operation of the Commission. And I hope the next time you see one of our officers out on the road, that you remember that officer is out there ensuring your safety and that of every driver in and passing through West Virginia.
