West Virginia Code 24A-7-7 – Authority of motor carrier inspectors to enforce all traffic rules as to commercial vehicles; use of radar as evidence
(a) The employees of the commission designated as commercial vehicle enforcement officers have the same authority as law-enforcement officers generally to enforce the provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code with respect to commercial motor vehicles owned or operated by motor carriers, exempt carriers or private commercial carriers where vehicles have a gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand pounds or more.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 24A-7-7
- Commission: means the Public Service Commission of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 24A-1-2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Exempt carrier: means any person operating a motor vehicle exempt from the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 24A-1-2
- Motor carrier: includes both a common carrier by motor vehicle and a contract carrier by motor vehicle. See West Virginia Code 24A-1-2
- Motor vehicle: means , and includes, any automobile, truck, tractor, truck-tractor, trailer, semitrailer, motorbus, taxicab, any self-propelling motor-driven motor vehicle, or any combination thereof used upon any public highway in this state for the purpose of transporting persons or property. See West Virginia Code 24A-1-2
- Private commercial carrier: means and includes any person who undertakes, whether directly or by lease or other arrangement, to transport property, including hazardous materials as defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the commission, for himself or herself over the public highways of this state, in interstate or intrastate commerce, for any commercial purpose, by motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, by motor vehicle designed to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver. See West Virginia Code 24A-1-2
The commission is authorized to delegate commercial vehicle enforcement officer duties to weight enforcement officers as it considers appropriate, following successful training and certification of individual officers, who shall then have the same authority as commercial vehicle enforcement officers under this section. The commission is also authorized to delegate weight enforcement duties to commercial vehicle enforcement officers.
(b) The speed of a commercial motor vehicle owned or operated by a motor carrier, exempt carrier or private commercial carrier may be proved by evidence obtained by use of any device designed to measure and indicate or record the speed of a moving object by means of microwaves, when the evidence is obtained by employees of the commission designated as commercial vehicle enforcement officers. The evidence so obtained is prima facie evidence of the speed of the vehicle.
(c) Commercial vehicle enforcement officers shall also perform a North American standard safety inspection of each commercial motor vehicle stopped for enforcement purposes pursuant to this section.
(d) Before exercising the provisions of this section, the commercial vehicle enforcement officers shall receive adequate training.
(e) Nothing in this section affects the existing authority of law-enforcement officers not employed by the commission to enforce the provisions of chapter seventeen-c of this code.