Governor Paves Way for Higher Speed Limit : Legislation: Wilson approves increase, but U.S. government must go along. Governor also signs education bills.

Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation Wednesday that clears the way for speed limits on California highways to increase to as high as 70 m.p.h.--if the federal government goes along.

State officials said they are optimistic that the speed limit changes could be made by early next year, since the idea has already passed both houses in Congress. But the idea faces opposition in the Clinton Administration where transportation officials have warned that an increase in the speed limit will lead to more dangerous highways.

In California, the bill to increase the speed limit by state Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco) passed the state Assembly and Senate in the summer without a single negative vote.

“The governor signed the bill because most California highways are designed to handle higher speeds and he believes California commuters will exercise the appropriate responsibility when determining what speed is safest for them--as long as its under the posted limit,” said Paul Kranhold, Wilson’s press secretary.

Kopp’s measure would return the state’s roadways to the speed rules that applied prior to 1973, when a gasoline crisis caused federal lawmakers to lower the national speed limit to 55 m.p.h.

“Given the apparent popularity of this issue and given that Congress is apparently going to do something by the end of the year, I’d say that adds up to a fairly quick turnaround for most routes,” said Steve Schnaidt, a consultant to the state Senate Transportation Committee. “I think you’d see something in early ’96.”

If the federal legislation is approved, roadways eligible for higher speed limits will be reviewed and selected by Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol. CHP spokeswoman Patricia Ryan said the analysis is based on a number of factors including topography, traffic volume and collision history.

Under the federal legislation pending in Congress, the state could essentially make whatever changes it considers appropriate since the House and Senate versions did not set a national maximum speed limit.

The federal bill is being negotiated by the two congressional chambers to resolve a discrepancy in the Senate version that would keep the 55 m.p.h. limit in place for large trucks and buses.

White House officials who oppose the speed limit increase have stopped short of threatening to veto the idea particularly because it is included as part of an omnibus highway bill.

In 1987, Congress changed the national 55 m.p.h. limit to allow higher rates on rural highways. Schnaidt said California changed about 10% of its highways to a 65 m.p.h. limit.

If the changes are made, state officials expect many of the highways currently limited to 65 m.p.h. to be increased to 70 m.p.h. Schnaidt said more highways would also be increased to 65 m.p.h., but he did not expect the change to be substantial.

“I don’t think it would double,” he said.

Schnaidt said state lawmakers did not encounter any opposition to the increase when the issue was considered by the Legislature. On the other hand, he said, lawmakers reviewed studies that indicate a 55 m.p.h. speed limit does not improve safety and provides only minimal savings in gas consumption.

One study the lawmakers considered from UC Irvine indicated that fatality rates went down on highways that increased the speed limit from 55 m.p.h. to 65 m.p.h.

The report identified three reasons why the higher limits decreased fatalities: The speed variance between vehicles was reduced, patrol officers were allowed to focus on other safety factors and some drivers used other roads.

“Taken as a whole, these different analyses lead to the conclusion that overall statewide fatality rates fell by 3.4% to 5.1% in the states that adopted the 65 m.p.h. limit,” the report said.

In Washington, Clinton Administration opponents of the speed limit increase disputed the Irvine study, arguing that their research concludes just the opposite. Philip Recht, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Wednesday that highway fatalities dropped sharply in 1974 and increased when speed limits returned to 65 m.p.h. in 1987.

“There’s no doubt that speed kills,” he said. “Speed is a factor in a third of major crashes.”

Legislation promoting the teaching of phonics, spelling, math computation and other basic skills in California schools was also signed into law by Wilson.

A bill by Assemblywoman Dede Alpert (D-Coronado) requires the state Board of Education to ensure that basic math and reading materials for grades one to eight stress phonics, spelling and basic computation.

A bill by Assemblyman John Burton (D-San Francisco) requires that language arts instructional materials for kindergarten to eighth grade include spelling instruction.