Charles Town, West Virginia Speed Traps

They pull you over with bogus Radar report – no proof – no video, just officers word against yours. If you contest, they wait until after they find you guilty to tell you that there is no way to win because you have to prove that the radar is faulty – when they don’t present the radar report or any sort of video. How the heck do you prove the radar is faulty if it’s not even presented as evidence?

Stop sign at West Washington Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. You leave the stop sign to clear the intersection and are launched onto a downhill road with a 25mph limit and the policeman is at the top of the next hill, in a private driveway, when you check your speed he already has you on radar.

A portion of Charles Town city limit includes a mile and a half section of US 340 centered at the Hwy 9 on/off ramp 2 miles South of Charles Town. Charles Town city police sit just over the crest of the hill (just past the Hwy 9 exit) to catch Southbound US 340 traffic, and they sit under the Hwy 9 overpass (again just over the crest of the hill) to catch Northbound US 340 traffic. Speed limit is 60, but this section seems to be divided with limited access and wide open, and (unsuspecting) traffic normally travels at around 75. This speed trap is manned often at all times of day, and is well known by the locals.

Rt. 9 east is a high accident area. The police sit near Crosswinds development, near the Rt. 340 Bypass entrance, and near the 7-11 store. Basically, they patrol the whole section, so please stay close to the posted speed limit of 45mph.

It is a straight stretch of road running past a residential area, a Retirement Community and a shopping plaza. It is well posted at 25 mph. The police sit in various locations around the retirement community and shopping plaza.