Subject: Speed Limits: States' Attitudes (2/1/98) - FAQ Version From: kevinatk@home.com (Kevin Atkinson) Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving,dc.driving,ca.driving,alt.law-enforcement.traffic,alt.travel.road-trip,rec.answers,alt.answers,news.answers Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Followup-To: poster Summary: What states new speed limits will be now that the NMSL is gone, the full story of any possible increase, what their limits use to be and more! Archive-name: autos/state-speed-limits Posting-Frequency: Every other thursday Last-modified: 2/1/1998 (M/D/Y) Last-posted: 10/19/1997 URL: http://metalab.unc.edu/rdu/sl-attud/index.html This is the Lite FAQ Version of my States' Attitudes Towards Speed Limits lists at my Reasonable Drivers Unanimous site (http://metalab.unc.edu/rdu/). It is posted biweekly to several traffic/driving related newsgroups and is sent out at the same time to all members of the Sl-Attud mailing list. If you would like to join the list sent me a note at kevinatk@home.com. It consisted chiefly of two parts a Summary Chart and a News Summary. The Summary Chart shows the current and proposed speed limits for the various states. The News Summary gives a gives a quick overview of what is happening in the states in terms of speed limits. Only states with something happening within the last 6 months are listed. The full version of this FAQ also includes a Detailed List which shows a detailed breakdown of every states attitude toward speed limits in plain English. It can be found at http://metalab.unc.edu/rdu/sl-attud I am trying to keep this information as up-to-date as possible so if you know of any New Speed Limits, when it will take effect, and/or the story of any possible increases for your state or any other state please let me know at kevinatk@home.com; 7962 Helmart Dr., Laurel MD 20723. Be sure to include how you found out about the information. With out it I have no way to judge how valid it is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1) Changes Since Last Posting 2) Summary Chart 3) News Summary 4) Summary Summary 5) Credits Etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) CHANGES SINCE LAST POSTING ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (Changes stared indicate a significant change. Not all non-significant will show up in the Summary Chart) 2/1/98: NJ*, VA* 12/19/98: NJ 12/16/97: MD 12/12/97: NJ*, WV, MS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) SUMMARY CHART ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The limits for the Current and Proposed limits are as follows: (Rural Freeway / Divided / UnDivided / Urban Freeway) The Change date is the date of the most recent rural freeway limit change. "Pre" stands for what the rural freeway limit was before the 55 mandate. Please see the Notes at the end of this chart for an explanation of what the various abbreviations mean. For a detailed breakdown of any state click on its name. State | Current Limit | Proposed Limit | applies to| Change| Pre ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alaska | 65 55 55 55 | | | 88/01 | 70 | | | | | Alabama | 70 65 55 65 | | | 96/05 | 70 | | | | | Arkansas | 70 55 55 55 | | | 96/08 | 75 | 65 55 55 55 | | trucks | | | | | | | Arizona | 75 55 55 55 | -- 65 65 65 | | 95/12 | 75 | | | | | California | 70 65 65* 65 | | | 96/01 | 70 | 55 55 55 55 | | combinat. | | | | | | | Colorado | 75 65 65 55 | | | 96/05 | 70 | | 55 55 55 55 | trucks | | | | | | | Conn. | 55 55 50 55 | 60 -- -- -- | | | 60 | | | | | Delaware | 65 55 50 55 | | | 96/01 | 60 | | | | | Florida | 70 65 55 55 | | | 96/04 | 70 | | | | | Georgia | 70 65 55 65 | | | 96/07 | 70 | | | | | Hawaii | 55 55 45 55 | | | | 70 | | | | | Iowa | 65 55 55 65* | | | 87/05 | 75 | | | | | Idaho | 75 65 65 55 | | | 96/05 | 70 | | | | | Illinois | 65 65 55 65* | | | 87/04 | 70 | 55 55 55 55 | | trucks | | | | | | | Indiana | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/06 | 70 | | | | | Kansas | 70 70 65 55 | | | 96/03 | 75 | | | | | Kentucky | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/06 | 70 | | | | | Louisiana | 70 65 55 60 | | | 97/07 | 70 | | | | | Mass. | 65 65 55 65 | | | 92/01 | 65 | | | | | Maryland | 65 55 55 60* | | | 95/07 | 70 | | | | | Maine | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/06 | 70 | | | | | Michigan | 70 55 55 65 | | | 97/01 | 70 | 55 55 55 55 | 70 -- -- 65 mayb | trucks | | | | | | | Minnesota | 70 65 55 65 | | | 97/06 | 65 | | | | | Missouri | 70 70 60 60 | | | 96/03 | 70 | | | | | Miss. | 70 65 55 60 | | | 96/03 | 70 | | | | | Montana | 00 00 00 55 | | day | 95/12 | 00* | 65 55 55 55 | | night | | | 65 60 60 55 | | trucks | | | | | | | N Carolina | 70 55 55 65 | | | 96/08 | 70 | | | | | N Dakota | 70 65 65 55 | | day | 96/07 | 75 | 70 55 55 55 | | night | | | | | | | Nebraska | 75 65 60 55 | | | 96/06 | 75 | | | | | N. Hamp. | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/04 | 70 | | | | | New Jersey | 55 55 50 55 | 65 -- -- -- done | | 98/04 | 60* | | | | | New Mexico | 75 70 65 55 | | | 96/02 | 70 | | | | | Nevada | 75 70 70 65 | | | 95/12 | 00 | | | | | New York | 65 55 55 65* | | | 95/08 | 65 | | | | | Ohio | 65 65 55 65 | | | 87/07 | 70 | 55 55 55 55 | | trucks | | | | | | | Oklahoma | 75* 70 65 60 | | day | 95/12 | 70 | 75* 65 55 60 | | night | | | 60 60 55 60 | | trucks | | | 55 55 55 55 | | nig truck | | | 65 50 ?? ?? | | school b. | | | | 75 -- 65 65 done | | | | | | | | Oregon | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/09 | 75 | | | | | Penn. | 65 55 55 55 | -- -- -- 65 | | 95/07 | 65 | | | | | R. Island | 65 55 50 55 | | | 96/05 | 60 | | | | | S Carolina | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/08 | 70 | | | | | S Dakota | 75 65 65 55 | | | 96/04 | 75 | 65 55 55 55 | | trucks | | | | | | | Tennessee | 65 65 55 65 | | | 87/05 | 75 | | | | | Texas | 70 70 70 70* | | day | 95/12 | 70 | 65 65 65 55 | | night | | | 60 60 60 55 | | trucks | | | 55 55 55 55 | | nig truck | | | 50 50 50 50 | | school b. | | | | | | | Utah | 75 65 55 65 | | | 96/06 | 70 | | | | | Virginia | 65 55 55 55 | 75 60 -- -- | | 88/07 | 70 | | | | | Vermont | 65 55 50 55 | | | 87/04 | 65 | | | | | Washington | 70 70* 65* 60 | | | 96/03 | 70 | 60 60 60 60 | | trucks | | | | | | | Wisconsin | 65 55 55 55 | | | 87/06 | 70 | | | | | W Virginia | 70 65 55 60 | | | 97/08 | 70 | | | | | Wyoming | 75 65 65 60 | | | 95/12 | 75 | | | | | * For Montana: Daytime only, 55 non-interstate/65 interstate night limit * For Any Other State: Kind of, see the Detailed List for more info Notes: 00 = A reasonable & prudent speed or no speed limit ?? = A change possible, but I am not sure what to mayb = A possible change, but it is questionable done = A done deal, just waiting for the signs to be posted combinat. = combination vehicles nig truck = night, trucks school b. = school buses ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) NEWS SUMMARY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansas (7/13/97) * Some more speed limits are going up on I-70, I-635, and I-435. Louisiana (7/02/97) * A Bill to raise the Speed limit to 70 mph (from 65) on interstates and 65 on other 4 lane (from 55) passed the House and Sent and the Governor has signed it into law. Speed limits started to go up after the forth of July and were all up by the middle of August. Maine (9/6/97) * A bill to raise parts of I-95 to 70, other parts of I-95 to 75, and all of I-495 to 75 mph was soundly defeated. Another bill which would have raised some urban interstates to 65 also failed. Maryland (12/13/97) * I-95 between the Capital and Baltimore Beltway finally went to 65 mph from 55 on Monday December 15, 1997. Minnesota (7/02/97) * The Governor has decided to sign the speed limit bill in spite if not getting enough money for troupers. Speed limit to 70 mph on rural freeways, 65 on urban ones and 65 mph on other divided highways. Speed limits started going up on Tuesday, June 24. New Jersey (2/1/97) * The governer conditionally vetoed a bill raising the state's maximum speed limit to 65 mph. The conditional veto allows the 65 mph limit to take effect for 18 months on a trial basis. Ohio (9/6/97) * A bill (HB 305) which would make truck speed limits the same as cars was defeated 8-4 in a committee. Oregon (7/13/97) * The legislature has adjourned without passing a speed limit increase. The Senate passed two bills but they both died in the House Transportation Committee. One bill would have raised the rural interstate limit to 75; another would have repealed speed limits and let the transportation department set whatever limits are deemed safe. Texas (9/6/97) * Cites now have the option of increasing the speed limits for urban interstates from 55 to 70 mph under a new law signed into law. Some speed limits in the Houston area will be increased this fall. The bill which would have lowered speed limits from 70 to 60 on some 2 lane roads was defeated. Virginia (1/01/98) * Two bills have been introduced that will raise the speed limit. One will raise the limit to 75 on interstates 65 on other freeways and 60 on other divided highways. The other will give VDOT the authority to raise speed limits. West Virginia (12/13/97) * Accidents are down since the change. West Virginia speed limits just got increased from 65 to 70 on rural interstates, 55 to 65 on most divided highways and 60 on some urban stretches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) SUMMARY SUMMARY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytime Interstate Speed Limit: # Of States | 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 None ---------------------------------------------------- Pre-NMSL 0 4 5 29 10 0 0 2 Post-NMSL 3 0 20 16 10 0 0 1 Prevailing Speed: | 60 65 70 75 None -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-NMSL (1) | 65-70 66-69 71-76 72-76 76-77 See a pattern here? Note how the pre-NMSL speed limits generally equaled the speed of traffic. Also notice how when there was NO speed limit traffic didn't go above 80. Something that will hopefully comeback once the NMSL is repealed. Notice also how only 10 states had speed limits of 65 or less. (1) Estimated speed. They didn't use the the 85th percentile rule (prevailing speed) back them. Source: "Pre NMSL data" {pre-NMSL} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) CREDITS Etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1997 by Kevin Atkinson. A service of the "Reasonable Drivers Unanimous" home page available at http://metalab.unc.edu/rdu/. Special thanks to the National Coalition for the Abolition of Speed Limits (NCASL) and the National Motorist Association (NMA) for providing a lot of this info. The NCASL is a newly formed group that advocates the abolition of all speed limits except in large cities, business districts, and residential areas. For more information see there web page at http://www.missouri.edu/~c669885/ncasl.html. The NMA is the only real drivers rights organization in North America. They are the ones that got the NMSL repealed in the first place. For more information see there web page at http://www.motorists.com/ or contact them at 608/849-6000; nma@motorists.com or 6678 Pertzborn Road, Dane, Wisconsin 53529. All of the information in this chart comes from offical or semi-offical sources. Source for Pre-NMSL speed limits: Federal Highway Administration, 1972 except for NC and NJ. Sources for the 65 dates: High Risk States, Table 3 Unknown Risk States, Table 4, States at Risk. AHAS Press Release, Nov13 1995. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Unknown source from the insurance company. Some of the sources for the post-NMSL data: NCASL NMA AAA "A state-by-state look at speed limits" by the associated press, USA Today Online "DOA States" by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (http://www.saferoads.org/press/95/strisk/table2.html)