OCR Text |
Show THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday December 3, 1986 - Page 2 Western Govenore, which I supported is, in my judgement, It's time to rethink 55 MPH limit by Norman H. Bangerter Utah Governor Considerable furor was generated recently when the Utah Department of Transportation reported that for the first time, speed count statistics showed that more than 50 percent of the motorists traveling Utahs highways were exceeding the 55 MPH speed limit. The annual speed monitoring report for fiscal year 1986 now shows that the state of Utah is officially out of compliance regarding 55 MPH speed compliance as required by federal statute. According to the report, 50.7 percent (adjusted percent) are exceeding the 55 MPH speed limit. This means that the state of Utah will now join other states, primarily in the west, who either have been or will this year be out of compliance. The federal law requires certain sanctions to be imposed which could result in the loss of $10 million of highway funding to the state of Utah over a three year period. Numerous letters to the editor and other comments received by the Department of Public Safety have argued the s various merits and of the 55 MPH speed limit. In view of those concerns and wide divergence of opinion that seems to exist, not only in Utah but nationally, regarding 55, I would like to offer my views as the states chief executive Most of us have probably forgotten that the 55 mph limit was originally enacted as a temporary fuel conservation non-merit- measure. Subsequently, Congress make the speed limit permanent because of apparent safety benefits. In the year following the enactment of 55, the number of highway fatalities declined by about 17 percent. However, decline in travel, as well as other factors, also contributed to this improved highway safety record. Enactment of the national maximum speed limit in 1974 represented a definite departure from the historical public policy regarding regulation of highway travel speeds. States reduce the speeds of vehicles in the crowded turnpikes and interstates of the East is hardly the same as the situation existing in the west, where one can travel miles of interstate without encountering a curve in the road and only an occasional fellow traveler. Anyone who travels the Utah interstate system, and even the more populous Wasatch Front, knows that virtually nobody travels at 55 mph. Notwithstanding national and local polls, which seem to indicate that the majority of the people support 55, our driving practices present quite a different picture. The point is, Westerners generally do not support in practice the 55 mph speed limit. It is violated openly and with impunity every day of the year. The Department of Public a reasonable and rational approach to resolving this problem. Part of that resolution suggests that speed limits in excess of 55 mph be allowed on some carefully selected rural interstate highway systems. It is my opinion that the effect of increasing the speed limit on Utahs rural interstates would not have a proportional impact on safety. The interstate systems are our safest roads. They are built for speeds in excess of 55 mph and in almost every instance are divided highways with few critical turns or structural impediments. In short, we need a sane and rational approach to speed restrictions and speed enforce- Safety annual report for ment in this state. Certainly 55 mph or slower is appropriate on undivided highways in this state. Indeed, 55 mph seems wholly appropriate in the congested limit and issued 37,157 Wasatch Front. It is critical that this issue be resolved in the National Congress. Utah is quite capable of making those judgments and we do not need enforcement of the national maximum speed limit shows that for the current year 127,194 citations have been written for violation of the 55 speed interstate system of the the federal government With regard to warnings. this citations, represents an 8.28 percent increase over the same time last year. dictating highway policy for the unique geography of the Western United States. The opponents of any attempt to change 55 have been led by Representative James Howard, N. J., powerful chairman of the House Transportation Committee. Howard has vowed that as long as he is chairman, the 55 mph speed limit will never be changed. To arguments that 55 does not accommodate simply the practical and geographical realities of the West, he responds perfunctorily that the tax dollars of the good citizens of New Jersey go to build the interstate systems in Wyoming and Utah and we will just have to live with 55. Paradoxically, it is this same Eastern block of powerful legislators who are all too willing to export the nations nuclear waste to the Western states in recognition of our appropriate geographical and population sparsity. A resolution passed by the - The Record is delivered, and as always, I find there informative items of interest and concern. Sometimes I do not agree, but many times the messages in My Turn and some of the letters strike a familiar chord, and I want to stand and cheer for thoughts well expressed on topics that should be addressed. I might add that there are times when I want to stand and cheer for thoughts well expressed even when they dont strike a familiar chord. As I opened the paper recently, I saw there the picture of my good friend, Harold Drake from Navajo Mountain, and was reminded of the enjoyable time McGruff and I had have always, in peacetime at least, controlled motor vehicle Speeds. It is this issue which is troublesome to me, quite apart from the arguments about It seems highway safety. Ends Wed, Dec 3 (No $1 Nite) KARATE KID Part II Dec 5, 8, 8, 10 (No $1 Nlte) fundamentally inappropriate that the federal government should be involved in a matter that has so historically been a state responsibility. The folly of the present law is that application of the national maximum speed limit has varying applications throughout the country. The need to IBs visiting with him, his wife and daughter at the time he was Ono presented the Yonoeo Award. Our pleasant association and good memories with and of him go back many years and we were pleased to see him recieve the honor he so richly deserves, and grateful for the experiences we have shared with him. On to another page and there was Dr. Goon sporting a happy smile as he sat on Santas knee. I had seen that delightful smile many times, hut much of the time the smile was not so obvious for his work dealt so much with the weighty decisions and the life and death situations that his thoughts were involved in things of a serious nature. Surely there were many times when the illnesses he was trying to combat and the long hours he was having to endure left him too tired to smile. In reading the accompanying article, I could follow in my minds eye many of the events that were mentioned, and those things, in turn, recalled other memories. Times when I had been to Dr. Goon for help for myself or my children. A time when he operated on and cared for my father-in-laand others of our loved ones. Times when, as an EMT, I would take people in for emergency treatment when he was on call, and always he was gentle and concerned, treating both the patients, their families and the EMTs with respect. My association with him when we both served on the hospital board. Not in any of those memories did I recall anything but the w PG R STRTE OF EMERGENGH Trick or Treat PG-1- 3 (d1lcimeJj best of thoughts and feelings. And again, I was grateful for experiences shared. I was surprised, though, to learn that he had been here for 30 years. That sounds like quite a while. Yet, comparing that with my own age, I was surprized that it was only 30 years. When I think of my beloved San Juan and the people here who have played such an important part in its history, and how much like a part of my own family they seem to me, its difficult to think that they have not been a part of our country always. So with Dr. Goon and Marguerite, they are such an integral part of family that it seems they must always have been with us. I read the reception invitation with mixed emotions. If they are retiring it will entail changes for all of us, and changes can be difficult. But if they are retiring, what a lovely gesture to have a reception where people have an opportunity to visit with and express their appreciation to them. Thanks to the people of Monticello for inviting us all. It was a special occasion. Apparently the decision hasnt yet been made as to when, where, or if the good doctor and his wife will be going. Whenever they make that decision, and wherever they may decide to go, may they take with them our love and best wishes and the knowledge that theyll be missed and welcomed back into San Juan whenever they decide to return . Without Advertising You Wed, Decamber 3 ($1 Nite) State of Emergency Oast nite) . 7 pm Trick or Treat (R) 9 pm Thurs, December 4 Trick or Treat 7 pm Fii, Set - December 5, 8 Peggy Sue (PG 13) 7 pm Trick or Treat 9 Tue, December 9 Peggy Sue 7 pm No Show Monday DSPS 480-40- 0 pm Wednesday $1 Nite SAN JUAN THEATER the San Juan Record Wouldnt Know BLANDING Published weekly by San Juan Record, Inc., at Monticello, Utah. Second class postage paid at Monticello, Utah 84535 (USPS Postmaster; Bend address changes to PfO. Box 879, Monticello, Utah 84535. The San Juan Record is a member 480-400- ). of the Utah Press Association. f f ..or will she ? reartmtiiiHEnvio,viEs tton. Family Nits $8 Fri&Sat r.ioimcELLO 7&9pm Mon & Wed Closed Tim. ft Thurs. 7pm PUBLISHERS J.A. Martin I.K. Adams SUBSCRIPTION RATES San Juan County $9.00 Outside county 10.00 U.S.A Newsstand 254 . |