State Officials Kick Off Drive to Slow Down Motorists

Citing surveys that show speeding is part of the California lifestyle, state safety officials launched a $600,000 campaign Wednesday urging drivers to slow down in order to save money, limit pollution and prevent traffic accidents.

The federally funded program, which was announced in Universal City by the state Office of Traffic Safety, will use public service announcements to tell motorists to drive at the “Green Speed--the right, correct and responsible speed.”

“Our primary goal is to reduce the carnage,” said Peter O’Rourke of the state traffic safety office. “If we can do that by appealing to people about the quality of life in California, we should utilize that approach. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Statistics show that more than 11% of fatal collisions and 23.3% of injury collisions in California are caused by people traveling at unsafe speeds, O’Rourke said.

That information, however, isn’t enough to put a halt to the motorists who hurtle down the freeways and surface roads trying to reach their destinations as fast as they can, O’Rourke said.

“We found that the message of ‘speed kills’ just isn’t bringing down speeds,” O’Rourke said. People persist in traveling above the speed limit and driving too fast despite poor road conditions or bad weather, he said.

A recent survey of 1,029 motorists showed that 11% habitually drive above the speed limit, O’Rourke said. Another 74% said they sometimes drive too fast, he said.

When the agency asked what would make them stop speeding, some motorists said they needed to be reminded that speed laws are enforced. Others said they would be more swayed by evidence that speeding affected the economy and the environment.

To that end, the traffic safety office kicked off its campaign Wednesday with a potpourri of speeding facts from a host of agencies that are lending their support. They include the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Transportation, California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration.

B. B. Blevins, executive director of the California Energy Commission, said Californians use 15 billion gallons of gas a year, second in consumption in the world only to the United States.

If motorists in the state stopped speeding, they could save 650 million gallons of gas a year, or $800 million worth, Blevins said.

Anne Geraghty of the California Air Resources Board emphasized that cars emit more pollution at higher speeds than lower. And R. N. Noonan, assistant chief for the Southern Division of the CHP, painted a scenario of the difference between speeders and more relaxed motorists.

“Instead of getting there with nerves jangled and dispositions frazzled, they might arrive at peace with themselves and in one piece,” Noonan said.

These messages will be reinforced with three public service announcements in English and Spanish that are expected to begin airing this week.

One advertisement shows cars traveling down a freeway as a woman’s voice asks: “Do you know what happens when you drive the green speed? You can help clean California’s air. . . . And you can help keep our streets safer.”

Campaign speakers will also get the word out to community groups and corporations. Follow-up surveys and statistics will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign after 18 months.

California Speeding Facts

About 2.2 million speeding citations were issued on California roads in 1991.

About 11% of all fatal motor vehicle collisions are caused by unsafe speeds.

19.3% of all vehicles on 55 m.p.h. highways exceeded 65 m.p.h.

Traffic collisions caused by motorists traveling at unsafe speeds cost Californians about $4.7 billion in medical care, property damage and lost wages each year.

About 650 million gallons of gasoline could be saved each year if drivers observed speed limits on California freeways.

Pollution emissions, on average, double when speeds are increased from 55 m.p.h. to 65 m.p.h.

Sources: California Highway Patrol, California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board.