Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the West Virginia Legislature, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026 REGULAR SESSION
ENROLLED
Committee Substitute
for
House Bill 4538
BY DELEGATES HOWELL AND SHEEDY
[Passed March 14, 2026; in effect 90 days from
passage (June 12, 2026)
Enr CS for HB 4538
1 AN ACT to amend and reenact §17C-3-4a and §17C-3-4b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
2 amended; all relating to increasing fines and criminal penalties for speeding, traffic control
3 violations, and violations of the Electronically Distracted Driving Act in construction work
4 zones when workers are present.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 3. TRAFFIC SIGNS, SIGNALS, AND MARKINGS.
§17C-3-4a. Obedience to traffic-control instructions at site of street or highway
construction or maintenance; penalty.
1 (a) The driver of any vehicle shall obey the traffic-control instructions of any law-
2 enforcement officer or persons authorized by the commissioner of highways or by proper local
3 authorities to operate traffic-control devices, act as flagmen, or operate authorized vehicles
4 engaged in work at or near the site of street or highway construction maintenance work, for the
5 purpose of regulating, warning or guiding traffic, subject to the exceptions granted the driver of an
6 authorized emergency vehicle in this chapter.
7 (b) Any person failing to comply with the requirements of this section is guilty of a
8 misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100; upon a second
9 conviction within one year thereafter, shall be fined not more than $200; and upon a third or
10 subsequent conviction, shall be fined not more than $500.
11 (c) Any person failing to comply with the requirements of this section when any worker is
12 present is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than
13 $250; upon a second conviction within one year thereafter, shall be fined not more than $500;
14 and upon a third or subsequent conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.
§17C-3-4b. Traffic violations in construction zones; posting requirement; criminal penalty.
1 (a) Where street or highway construction work is being conducted, signs and other traffic
2 control devices, as adopted in §17C-3-1 of this code, shall be posted giving the location of the
3 work and notifying all motorists as to the speed limit and any other traffic restrictions.
1
Enr CS for HB 4538
4 (b) Any person who exceeds any posted speed restriction or traffic restriction at a
5 construction site referred to in subsection (a) of this section by less than 15 miles per hour is guilty
6 of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $200: Provided, That
7 any person who exceeds any posted speed restriction or traffic restriction at a construction site
8 referred to in subsection (a) of this section when any worker is present by less than 15 miles per
9 hour is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500.
10 (c) Any person who exceeds any posted speed restriction or traffic restriction at a
11 construction site referred to in subsection (a) of this section by 15 miles per hour or more is guilty
12 of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $200 or confined in
13 a regional jail not more than 20 days, or both: Provided, That any person who exceeds any posted
14 speed restriction or traffic restriction at a construction site referred to in subsection (a) of this
15 section when any worker is present by 15 miles per hour or more is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
16 upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in a regional jail not more
17 than 30 days, or both.
18 (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of §17C-14-15 of this code, any person who commits
19 a violation of §17C-14-15 of this code within a construction site referred to in subsection (a) of
20 this section when any worker is present is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
21 shall be subject to fines not more than twice those authorized for the applicable offense under
22 §17C-14-15 of this code.
23 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude prosecution of any operator of
24 a motor vehicle who commits a violation of any other provision of this code for such violation.
2
Enr CS for HB 4538
The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby
certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.
...............................................................
Clerk of the House of Delegates
...............................................................
Clerk of the Senate
Originated in the House of Delegates.
In effect 90 days from passage.
...............................................................
Speaker of the House of Delegates
...............................................................
President of the Senate
__________
The within is ................................................ this the...........................................
Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2026.
.............................................................
Governor
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