LOS ANGELES — State and local officials trying to reduce the lethality of the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu launched a public education campaign this week to get drivers to "slow the fast down" — or get pulled over.

The message, which Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said will be delivered on billboards, lawn and beach signs, fliers, posters and social media, emphasizes the stepped-up enforcement by the California Highway Patrol in the 21-mile stretch that has claimed 60 lives since 2010. The plan is to educate residents and tourists about the dangers of reckless driving, what's happened on the highway as a result of it, what is being done to increase safety and how everyone can do their part.

State and local leaders convened Wednesday at Malibu's Ghost Tire Memorial, a tribute to dozens of lives lost on that stretch of the PCH, to announce the campaign. Dubbed "Go Safely PCH," it's the latest in a series of initiatives to enhance safety, including changes to the highway's markings and signage.

So far, though, there's been no move to lower the speed limit on the deadly stretch — a change many residents have been asking for ever since the deaths of four Pepperdine seniors, who were struck by a driver last October.

Tina Segel, a 50-year resident of the city, asked the officials gathered at the memorial how hard it would be to reduce the speed limit. The four students were killed right outside of Segel's home.

Lowering the speed limit on a state highway would mean looking into its design and reviewing the applicable state and federal laws, said Toks Omishakin, California Transportation Secretary. "It's not as straightforward as it may seem."

"But there's no doubt, no doubt, that we know the No. 1 issue here is speeding, distracted driving and driving under the influence," Omishakin said. All are factors that lead to crashes on this portion of the Pacific Coast Highway, he said.

The idea of lowering the speed limit isn't completely off the table, said Tony Tavares, director of the California Department of Transportation.

Six months after the four Pepperdine students' deaths, Pacific Coast Highway has visibly changed, with enhanced striping in curves, optical speed bars (stripes spaced at gradually decreasing distances to make drivers aware of their speed), speed feedback signs, speed limit markings on the pavement and upgraded safety corridor signs.

All were short-term projects that were promised by a collaboration announced last December among the California State Transportation Agency, California Office of Traffic Safety, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, the city of Malibu and Caltrans District 7.

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