Automobile insurance rates could rise by 10%...

Automobile insurance rates could rise by 10% in the 35 states, including California, that have adopted a 65-mile-an-hour speed limit, according to a study by Metropolitan Property & Liability Insurance in Warwick, R.I. The study estimated that greater speeds would increase the number and severity of accidents, based on the significant decrease in accidents when the national speed limit was dropped to 55 m.p.h. in 1974 for fuel-conservation reasons. A spokesman for State Farm, the nation’s largest auto insurer, called the findings reasonable, but predicted that insurers would wait 18 months to two years to collect loss data.