June Seen as Start of Higher Speed Limit

Legislation to raise California’s speed limit to 65 m.p.h. along selected stretches of interstate highways is already on the fast track, but state officials said Friday it will be at least June before the higher speed limit can take effect.

And the California Highway Patrol said it will continue to issue speeding citations for anyone going over 55 m.p.h., even though Congress voted Thursday to override President Reagan’s veto of a federal highway bill that gives states the authority to raise the speed limit.

“The speed limit doesn’t change until you see the 65 m.p.h. signs go up,” CHP spokesman Kent Milton warned.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, predicted easy passage of a bill he is carrying that would increase the speed limit on selected interstate highways. But he said it is unlikely he could move the legislation through the Assembly and Senate and get it to Gov. George Deukmejian’s desk before May 1.

Deukmejian, a strong supporter of the 65 m.p.h. limit on rural highways, is expected to sign the bill once it reaches him, but even then there will be a legally required 30-day waiting period before it can take effect.

Once approved, the increased speed limit will apply to 1,205 miles of rural interstate highway, although more stretches of highway may be added as the Katz bill moves through the Legislature.

The longest stretch of highway identified in the bill is 542 miles of Interstate 5 from the Oregon border to a point just south of Bakersfield, except where the superhighway passes through the urban areas of Sacramento, Redding and Stockton. Within the boundaries of those cities, the speed limit will drop to 55 m.p.h.

Other major highways earmarked for the higher speed limit are Interstate 10, east of San Bernardino to the Arizona border; Interstate 15, north of San Bernardino to the Nevada border, and Interstate 8, east of San Diego to the Arizona border.

There are some major exceptions because the new federal law applies only to rural interstate highways. Two busy north-south highways--101 and 99--will not be affected because they do not qualify as federal interstates.

And motorists in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and other urban areas will still be limited to 55 m.p.h. because the federal legislation forbids the higher speed limit in urban areas with populations of 50,000 or more.

Drivers of heavy trucks and cars pulling trailers also will continue to be bound by the 55 m.p.h. limit. The maximum speed for them was 55 m.p.h. even before 1974 when Congress lowered the speed limit for all vehicles to save gasoline during a worldwide energy crisis.

State officials said they do not expect motorists to begin driving faster if the speed limit is increased. They said motorists are most comfortable driving in the 60-65 m.p.h. range and will drive that fast regardless of the posted speed limit.

“Motorists voted years ago with the gas pedal that they think 60 to 65 m.p.h. is where the speed limit ought to be,” Katz said.

The Highway Patrol estimates that 85% to 90% of all drivers now exceed the 55 m.p.h. speed limit once they leave urban areas and hit the open stretches of interstate highways.

CHP spokesman Milton said if the law is changed, it is expected that 85% of those drivers will stay within the new limit.

“We don’t think it will compromise safety,” Milton said. “The speed curve on the rural interstates is identical today to what it was 13 years ago when the speed limit was higher. The people themselves have set the speed limit on those highways. The average speed on I-5 is 63 m.p.h. We think the change in that will be very slight.”

Otherwise, the CHP expects that the 65 m.p.h. limit will make enforcing the speed law much easier. Milton said the drivers the CHP wants to concentrate on are the ones who like to drive 75 to 80 m.p.h. or faster.

The Katz bill was introduced last December in anticipation of the federal legislation. The bill was approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee on Wednesday. Katz said he hopes to bring the bill up for a vote by the full Assembly on Thursday, after which it goes to the Senate for further action.