HIGHER
FINES AND STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF THE 45 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON
THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE are having a positive effect. Accidents
on the beautiful but deadly span are down by 60 percent
- from 40 to 16 - in the eight months since the state doubled
fines and the CHP added an extra officer to patrol the bridge.
The accident statistics look so good that bridge district
directors are beginning to wonder if the movable barrier
it has been studying will actually be needed. An analysis
of the $6.2-million barrier will be-ready this month.
Despite the
costs of a median, directors shouldn't dismiss too quickly
a system that could raise bridge safety from good to excellent,
possibly eliminating all head-on accidents. The thin rubber
pylons that separate north and southbound lanes are clearly
inadequate, offering no protection in the 34 head-on collisions
and 26 fatalities that have occurred on the bridge since
1970.
One can only
wonder how many more lives might have been saved if the
district had insisted on a lower speed and better enforcement
in 1985, when directors seriously considered a barrier but
couldn't come up with a workable design. If lives are saved,
the combination of a lower limit, beefed-up law enforcement
and a movable median on the bridge will be well worth the
expense. We'll know soon if that's feasible.
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