Speed Limits

Stephen Owings, whose 22-year-old son died when his car was rear-ended, is fighting to have the federal government require the use of speed-limiting devices on all big rigs, saying: "We're not against truckers; we're pro-highway safety." Most often, citizen-crusaders find themselves in lonely, unequal struggles against industry groups and lobbyists. But this time, David and Goliath seem to be on the same side. Owings has drawn support from the American Trucking Assns.

Excuse us if we chortle at federal legislation that aims to lower highway speed limits. Here in Southern California, we're still trying to figure out how to get above 30 mph on the freeways most mornings. After speed limits were capped nationwide at 55 mph in 1974 in an attempt to reduce gasoline consumption, it took more than two decades to repeal the federal law and legally feel the wind in our hair again. "Legally," because most drivers had ignored the speed limit whenever they could.

A European Union official called on Germany to impose speed limits on the autobahn to fight global warming, drawing angry responses in a country that cherishes what it calls "free driving for free citizens." A group representing the country's auto industry said it needed "no coaching on efficient climate protection from Brussels."

Prompted by the recent deaths of three blue whales, an environmental group has asked for federal imposition of a speed limit on freighters and tankers in the Santa Barbara Channel. A limit of 10 knots would make fewer collisions lethal and give whales more time to elude danger, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. It has been confirmed that two of the dead whales collided with ships, and it is suspected that the third also did.

In the aftermath of last week's deadly collision on Interstate 5 near Santa Clarita, a top Caltrans official on Wednesday confirmed that the speed limit in the area where the fiery pileup occurred was raised several years ago, and transportation authorities are now trying to determine whether that decision was appropriate. "I am unclear at this point in time as to exactly why the speed limit was raised," said Douglas Failing, Caltrans district director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The recent crash that killed a speeding teenager in a gated south Orange County enclave left behind skid marks and a devastated family and has rekindled debate about traffic control that mirrors concerns in private communities throughout the state. Residents of gated neighborhoods have long complained about speeding and reckless driving.

Westside drivers, are you ready for your close-ups? Beverly Hills wants to launch a pilot program using photo radar to nab speeders in 25-mph residential zones. The plan might seem extreme, but Mayor Steve Webb said the city must do something novel to curb drivers who diverge from the city's increasingly congested main thoroughfares, such as Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards, onto tree-lined side streets as they make their way to jobs, schools and shopping.

Not only is everything bigger in Texas, it's becoming faster, too. This week, if all goes according to plan, the posted speed limit on more than 500 miles of West Texas interstates will rise to 80 miles per hour. That will make Texas home to the highest posted limit anywhere in the United States and one that will rival the recommended maximums on Germany's famous autobahns.

Highway engineers know that freeway ramps can be risky for many kinds of vehicles, a point driven home on Sunday when a gasoline tanker rolled over and ignited an inferno that destroyed a major Bay Area highway node. Flames from 8,600 gallons of spilled gasoline leaped into the steel underbelly of another freeway ramp above it, melting girders and causing it to collapse on the roadway below. One miracle in this crash was that nobody died.

Imagine if everybody on the road would just get out of your way, there wouldn't be any congestion -- at least not for you. I have received a long stream of e-mails over the years from motorists stuck in the clogged arteries of Southern California's highway system, who complain their biggest problem is with people blocking the passing lane. In their view, if all those drivers using the No. 1 (far left) lane of the freeway would just get out of the way, they would be able to go much faster.