State Laws Relating to Speeding

The following provides information on state traffic laws and speed laws. It also provides information on general state legislation. All links on this page are redirected to external web sites. Please note: Links to web sites outside of the Accident Resource are offered for your convenience in accessing related information. Please be aware that when you exit the Accident Resource web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. The Accident Resource does not attest to the accuracy of information provided by linked sites, and such information does not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Accident Resource.

This page contains a summary of and links to state laws related to speeding, and in particular excess speeding and reckless driving.

The state name is a link to the traffic laws of the state, or maybe to the general legislative information page, or maybe to the state home page. If the state doesn't have useful information online or I got tired of typing there is no link. If there is a link in the "limit" column it points to information about speed limits in the state: a summary I wrote, the relevant law, or an official DOT web page. For some states I have included links to an online driver's manual. These manuals are not laws and may contain incorrect statements of law. If you have CSS enabled in your browser, the more anti-speed laws should show up with red borders.

See also the "keep right" and urban speed limit law lists.

State Speed Laws

Key

"Limit" means the maximum speed limit in the state. Generally this is set by law. All Alaska speed limits are set by administrative regulation.

Almost all states have laws or regulations setting speed limits that apply if no signs are posted. (The exceptions are Hawaii, where state highways have no unposted speed limits, and West Virginia, where limited access highways have no unposted speed limits but the state DOT is required to post limits.)

Most states prohibit the DOT from raising speed limits above the statutory unposted speed limit.

A few states permit the DOT to raise speed limits up to a legislatively-set maximum: California (65 to 70 on freeways), Connecticut (55 to 65 on freeways), Florida (55 to 70), Maryland (55 to 65 on freeways and expressways), Mississippi (65 to 70 on controlled access highways), New York (55 to 65 on certain highways), North Carolina (55 to 70 on freeways), Oregon (65 to 70, effective in 2004), Tennessee (65 to 70 on freeways), Texas (70 to 75 in sparsely populated counties), Utah (65 to 75 on freeways), and Washington (60 to 70).

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and West Virginia have no statutory maximum speed limit. Indiana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma laws appear to allow unlimited speed limit increases on state highways, but these states have not posted any limits greater than the normal state maximum (65, 70, and 75). The maximum posted speed in these states is listed in parentheses. The new Montana speed limit allows limit increases above the state speed limit on sections of road less than 50 miles long, but such increases are unlikely.

Except in Texas and Alaska the maximum two lane speed limit is lower than the speed listed here: typically 65 in the west half of the country and 55 in the east.

"Reckless" means the speed which the law defines to be reckless or which is subject to a substantially greater penalty than lesser speeding (not including fines). "+x" means "x over the limit". "80/+15" means either 80 MPH or 15 over the limit.

Numbers alone (in red if you have CSS enabled in your browser) mean the speed is defined as reckless driving or carries a substantial criminal penalty. Parenthesized numbers (in yellow) indicate lesser but still significant increases in the speeding penalty, such as a possible license suspension. "-" (in green) means the law does not define a particular speed as reckless.

In some states police have a threshold for reckless driving even though the law does not set one. I've heard a report that police in Minnesota consider speeding over 80 to be Driving to Endanger but will drop the criminal charge if the defendant requests a jury trial. Another driver says that Indiana police consider 25 over to be reckless; I have no information on the conviction rate there.

While Vermont generally considers +30 to be criminal excessive speeding, the law apparently does not apply on Interstate highways.

"Law" is the law defining speeding and/or the law defining the speed noted in the "reckless" column.

Types Of Speed Limits

Most states have adopted the speed limit language from the Uniform Vehicle Code, which sets absolute limits. That means exceeding the speed limit is illegal per se regardless of whether or not it is safe. These states are marked " A ".

In Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah driving faster than the speed limit is prima facie evidence of unreasonable speed. One can argue in court that one was exceeding the speed limit but should not be convicted because the speed was safe (when they accept this argument, judges will likely want to see evidence beyond a defendant's claim that he was driving safely). These states are marked " P ".

In several other states, there is a state absolute maximum speed and only limits below that are prima facie limits. State maximum speeds are 85 in Arizona, 75 in Colorado, 65 in New Hampshire and Oregon and on freeways in California (unless posted 70) and Ohio, and 55 in Connecticut (unless posted 65), on two lane roads in California (unless posted higher), and on non-freeways in Ohio. New Jersey posted speed limits are absolute. Ohio freeway speed limits are absolute even if below 55. In Minnesota only municipal limits are absolute. In Michigan municipal limits are prima facie and state highway limits are absolute. Massachusetts limits are prima facie except on roads that belong to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority or the Metropolitan District Commission. These states are marked " * ".

Some states have laws providing that points are not assessed for minor speeding. On freeways in the daytime the tolerance is 5 MPH in Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming; 10 MPH in Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota (171.12(6)), Oklahoma, Montana, and West Virginia; and 15 MPH in Georgia. South Dakota doesn't assess points for speeding. A new Ohio law prohibit points for speeding 10 miles per hour or less over a limit of 55 or higher, or 5 miles per hour or less over a speed limit below 55. Connecticut doesn't assess points for speeding less than 85 MPH if one pleads guilty by mail, but may revoke a license based on multiple convictions or guilty pleas notwithstanding the point total. Nevada doesn't assess points for speeding 5 or less over a 60-70 MPH limit in the daytime and outside of a county with a population greater than 100,000. New Mexico doesn't assess points for speeding 75 or less outside a residential zone, for speeding 5 or less over any limit, or for speeding in rural areas. Pennsylvania doesn't allow radar or laser tickets for less than 6 over the limit (or less than 11 over a limit less than 55 MPH), and only State Police can use radar or laser. Except by the State Patrol, radar and VASCAR can't be used in Georgia to write a ticket for 10 or less over the limit outside a residential area or school zone.

A few states, including Montana and Washington, allow drivers to exceed the speed limit while passing on two lane roads.

The Federal Highway Administration recommends that police tolerance never be less than 5 MPH. See 66 FR 29855 (``setting and enforcing rational speed limits'').

Some other state laws related to speed traps are available on the speedtrap.org site.

Radar detectors are illegal in cars in Virginia and the District Of Columbia. Radar jammers, and possibly other devices like IR-absorbing license plate covers, are explicitly illegal in California (VC §28150), the District of Columbia, Oklahoma (47-11-808), Minnesota (169.14(12)), Nebraska (60-6.275), Utah (41-6-52.7), and Virginia (46.2-1079). The FCC claims even "passive" radar jammers are illegal under federal law; see their 1997 opinion and order in the Rocky Mountain Radar case. This order was affirmed by the tenth circuit court of appeals in October, 1998 (Rocky Mountain Radar v. FCC, 158 F.3d 1118; cert. denied 119 S. Ct. 1045 (1999)).

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