Gov. John Kitzhaber made good on a threat last week to veto a bill that would've increased the state's speed limit. The governor said he might have signed the bill if the lawmakers had provided more money for additional state troopers to patrol roads.

SB502 authorized the state Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph for trucks and from 65 to 70 mph for cars on rural stretches of Interstates 5 and 84.

Kitzhaber, a former doctor, was concerned the speed increase would encourage drivers to drive even faster making the roads more dangerous. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Randy Miller (R-West Linn), said the veto will just continue the "fantasy" that the state is enforcing the 65-mph limit.

Oregon is one of only two states (Iowa) west of the Mississippi River with speed limits below 70 mph. The governor also vetoed 12 other bills bringing his total for the 2001 legislative session to 18.