Speed Limit Increase

* It is about time that speed limits were raised on the nation’s highways (Nov. 29). For years I drove from Upland to the Wilshire district. Almost no one drove 55 m.p.h. If some drivers did obey the law and go 55, they were passed up as if they were driving too slow. A bad law exists if it is not enforced or cannot be enforced. Let’s hope that law enforcement now will strictly enforce the new limits so that the death rate does not greatly increase.

JOHN E. GENUNG

Upland

* President Clinton and Gov. Pete Wilson must have a good reason for raising the speed limit--at least you’d think so. They must have forgotten that the U.S. has done nothing to ease its dependence on foreign oil. They must also have forgotten that the 55-m.p.h. speed limit has cut the amount of highway deaths in half. Aren’t they forgetting that budget cuts combined with earthquakes have left our aging highways poorly maintained and tainted with road hazards? Surely they didn’t forget the huge amount of revenue generated from traffic citations associated with the 55-m.p.h. law.

Maybe they’re just reacting to both public desire and the fact that cars are much safer now than 11 years ago. Somewhere along the line we’ve all come to believe that faster is better.

The 1974 reduction of the speed laws was the result of an energy crisis. Today the 55-m.p.h. speed limit is a reasonable answer to an overcrowded and poorly maintained transportation system!

BRAD HALPERN

Studio City