POSTED SPEED LIMIT MEANS JUST THAT, ACCORDING TO CHP OFFICIALS STUDY: MANY DRIVERS THINK THERE'S LEEWAY.

Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A national speeding study that indicates many highway motorists believe they have a 5-10 mph ``cushion'' above the posted speed limit has local California Highway Patrol officials concerned.

The study, released last week by the nonprofit Governors Highway Safety Association, polled states on their efforts to control highway speeding. It comes nearly 10 years after Congress repealed nationwide speed limits of 55 mph in urban areas and 65 mph in rural areas.

Wendy Hahn, a CHP officer public liaison assigned to the Newhall station, said a key fact to note is that the study concludes that California motorists ``believe police give a 5-10 mph cushion in enforcing the posted speed limit.''

``From the Highway Patrol's perspective, that's just not true. We have a zero-tolerance (speeding) policy,'' Hahn said. ``We know what the maximum speed limit is and it doesn't matter what the public's perception of that is.''

A catalyst behind the study is the discovery that U.S. speeding-related deaths have not declined in recent years despite safety improvements in auto design, including air bags and anti-lock brakes, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

``We should have experienced a significant decline in speeding-related fatalities given the tremendous gains in safety-belt use coupled with the increasingly safe design of vehicles,'' said Jim Champagne, chairman of the association.

``If we are going to reduce the carnage on our roadways, speeding must be given the same level of attention that has been given to impaired driving,'' he said.

When Congress repealed the national maximum speed limit in 1995, nearly half of the states increased the speed limit, including California. During its consideration, Congress requested input from various state law enforcement agencies.

The CHP, according to Hahn, stated then and continues to say that increased speed does not necessarily translate into increased traffic fatalities.

``Injuries and fatalities have nothing to do, necessarily, with speed,'' Hahn said. ``Higher speed doesn't mean there will be more crashes, it means that the injuries will likely be more serious. Our numbers at the Newhall (CHP) station back that up.''

The number of traffic-related fatalities on highways in the CHP Newhall station's jurisdiction - from the Kern County line to Sun Valley to Agua Dulce - have remained relatively consistent since 1997, Hahn said.

In 1997, there were 15 traffic-related fatalities on local highways, according to the CHP; in 2004, there were 19.

Nationwide speed-related fatality rates also have remained relatively consistent, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. But the report also notes that speeding is a factor in about one-third of the nation's estimated 42,000 traffic deaths each year.

Some of those speed-related deaths, the report says, are due to a 15 percent increase in traffic fatalities on freeways in 24 states that increased speed limits after the 1995 repeal of the national speed limit.

Following the repeal, California increased speed limits from 55 mph on all highways, to 65 mph on urban interstates and 70 mph on portions of rural highways.

``We're not saying that it's OK to speed because you're only going to get a little more hurt if you go a little faster,'' Hahn said. ``If you speed, it doesn't mean you're not going to die. But if people obey the speed limit - and that means considering weather conditions, too - then we're getting the message out.''

Amy Raisin Darvish, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com

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(color) The California Highway Patrol has a zero-tolerance policy on speeding, despite many Californians' belief that they won't get busted for only going 5 or 10 mph over the posted speed limit.

David Crane/Staff Photographer