The Region : CHP Plans Crackdown on L.A. Speeders

Motorists who ignore the 55-m.p.h. speed limit in Los Angeles will be the target of a California Highway Patrol crackdown beginning Sunday. CHP Officer John West said the action is prompted by government studies indicating that California was close to dropping below the 50% compliance with the speed limit called for in federal legislation passed in 1977. Any state which shows less than 50% compliance could lose federal highway funds. The new program was also spurred on by a recent survey taken by The Times, which indicated that 60% of Los Angeles-area drivers exceed the limit, West said. Two teams of 15 motorcycle officers will patrol highway stretches that have a high number of accidents, such as the Golden State, San Diego and the Foothill freeways, West said.