Utahns will have an opportunity to express themselves on the 55 mph speed limit next month at hearings to be conducted by the State Transportation Department. However, the hearings are scheduled in only three cities-St. George, Nephi, and Salt Lake City. For public convenience and fuller coverage, we would suggest some additional locations, both in the rural and urban areas. Utah County, the state’s second largest county, certainly ought to be the site of a hearing. The transportation commission is considering a resolution to permanently adopt the 55 mph limit, which fell under a legal cloud last January when the Utah Supreme Court tossed out the conviction of a speeder. The 55 limit was set by governor’s proclamation adopted in 1974 in response to the Arab oil embargo. It subsequently was adopted by the Transportation Commission. However, some Utahns have been challenging the limit on the grounds that the oil crisis is over, and the supreme court ruled in January that the transportation commission did not consider engineering and safety studies when adopting the limit, as required by law; State law sets the top speed in the state at 60 unless the commission conducts studies on traffic flow and road design and determines that some other speed should be set. After the supreme court ruling, the commission adopted 55 as a temporary limit, but formal herings must be held before the speed is permanently. The St. George hearing is at Dixie High School in St. George Dec. 13 L the Salt Lake one at the State Office Building Dec. 15; and the Nephi hearing at the Juab High School Dec. 20, all at 7 p.m. Make your views, whatever they are, known to the Department of Transportation. For the Herald’s part, we believe the 55 mph limit is good from standpoints of safety and gasoline conservation-and normally patrolling officers give the motorist a few miles leeway before cracking down. However, we would urge that rather than adopting a rigid 55 mph limit, studies be made toward establishing a higher limit in some country zones where the highways were built for it and traffic is relatively sparse. This would be a legitimate convenience for one thing, but also a possible deterrent to accidents caused by the fatigue syndrome.