California IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Golden Gate Bridge May Get Radar Guns

The California Highway Patrol may soon begin using radar guns to check for speeders on the Golden Gate Bridge, if the bridge’s board of directors approves use of the devices on Friday. The last time the CHP tried to use radar on the bridge--four years ago--the wide-beam guns available at the time did not work on the span because of “all kinds of interference from the steel structure,” said bridge manager Bob Warren. Newer guns used by the CHP have narrower beams that are not affected by the bridge structure. The new radar policy is being enacted because many drivers don’t obey the 45-m.p.h. speed limit on the bridge, Warren said. The speed limit was lowered from 50 m.p.h. after a series of fatal head-on collisions.