Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: Which US state has no speed limit?
Upon that repeal, there was effectively no speed limit on Montana's interstates for daytime driving (the nighttime limit was set at 65mph) from 1995 to 1999, when the state Supreme Court threw out the law as "unconstitutionally vague."[83] The state legislature enacted a 75mph daytime limit in May 1999.[84]
The US federal government has a similar law—49 CFR 392.14—which applies in all states as permitted under by the commerce clause and due process clause.; for example California Vehicle Code section 22350 which states that "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable ... and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property".
There is no state law regarding minimum speed limits, but minimum speed limit of 40 mph has been set on the entire length of Interstate 787 and the entire length of Interstate 495 (the Long Island Expressway). The New York State Thruway does not have a firm minimum speed, but there are signs advising drivers to use their flashers when traveling at speeds below 40 mph.
Hawaii was the last state to raise its maximum speed limit after the National Maximum Speed Law was repealed in 1995, and still has the lowest maximum speed limit of any state. In 2002, following public outcry after a controversial experiment with speed enforcement using traffic enforcement cameras, the state Department of Transportation raised the speed limit to on Interstate H-1 between Kapolei and Waipahu, and Interstate H-3 between the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels and the junction with H-1. All other freeways, including Interstate H-2, have a maximum speed limit of , with the limit dropping to in central Honolulu. Other highways generally have speed limits of 55 mph and in many cases much less. On July 6, 2016, Governor David Ige has signed a bill to allow the speed limit on Saddle Road to increase from 55 mph to 60 mph (the limit was increased in the week of February 5, 2017).
The highest posted speed limit in New York is 65 mph (105 km/h), found only on limited-access freeways (including some state highways, most of the New York State Thruway and select Interstate Highways). The default speed limit, posted as the "State Speed Limit", is 55 mph, which is in effect unless otherwise posted or in the absence of speed limit signs.
The state of Wisconsin has four default speed limits. 20 mph limits apply in school zones (on major roads during school arrival and dismissal periods only), near parks with children, and in alleys. 10 mph default speed limits apply, unless modified by the managing authority, on "service roads" within corporate limits. Within municipal boundaries and in areas of dense urban development a 35 mph limit is in effect unless another speed limit is indicated. In some jurisdictions, the 25 mph limit is the default speed limit for residential areas. The entry to such an area is to be marked by speed limit signs. Outside of built-up areas (these include denser business, industrial or residential land uses according to the relevant law) a 55 mph limit is effective in the absence of other indications.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has a minimum speed limit of 15 mph below the posted maximum speed, though the minimum is only sporadically posted. This is not enforced for slow-moving trucks in areas with steep grades and signs are posted that instruct drivers to use their flashers if traveling below 50 mph (40 if the speed limit is 55). Pennsylvania has no default minimum speed limit on any other roads. However, minimum speed limits on certain highways may be enacted and posted as provided by Section 3364(c) of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code (Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes).
In the late 1960s, heavily traveled portions of the New Jersey Turnpike began using variable speed limit signs, in combination with variable message signs. Officials can adjust the speed limit according to weather, traffic conditions, and construction. More typically, variable speed limits are used on remote stretches of highway in the United States in areas with extreme changes in driving conditions. For example, variable limits were introduced in October 2010 on a stretch of Interstate 80 in Wyoming, replacing the winter season speed reduction from that had been in place since 2008. This Variable Speed Limit system has been proved to be effective in terms of reducing crash frequency and road closures. Similarly, Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass and other mountain passes in Washington State variable speed limits are used to slow traffic in severe winter weather. As a response to fog-induced chain-reaction collisions involving 99 vehicles in 1990, a variable speed limit system covering of Interstate 75 in Tennessee was implemented in fog-prone areas around the Hiwassee River.
New Mexico has six major freeway facilities, which include three lengthy Interstate routes. Part of US-70 (as a divided highway) between Las Cruces and Alamogordo is the only section of non-Interstate route as well as being the only road in New Mexico that's not a freeway to have the 75 mph limit; as of January 2019, US 285 between Roswell and Vaughn will be raised to 75 mph as well. New Mexico, Nevada (US 95 south of US 93), and Texas are the only three states with 75 mph limits on roads that aren't freeways. There is no statutory requirement for reduced speeds on urban freeways so that, for example at Santa Fe and Las Vegas the speed limit remains 75 mph on I-25. New Mexico, Kansas, North Dakota, Colorado, and Texas are the only states to have a speed limit greater than 70 mph in urban highways. Nonetheless, there are 65 mph limits on freeways in more heavily urbanized areas such as Albuquerque and Las Cruces. Other reduced speed limits do exist, but the lowest speed limit under normal conditions on New Mexico's freeways is 55 mph, which can be found on two sections of Interstate 25: The first section being three miles from the Big I to Gibson Boulevard in Albuquerque, and the second being a short stretch near Raton Pass. These particular stretches of I-25 were originally built as relocations of US-85, whose design and construction predate the interstate highway era. As such, these stretches do not meet modern interstate highway standards, and have closely spaced interchanges, sharp curves, and/or limited sight distances.
In the United States, the signs are usually rectangular with the words "SPEED LIMIT" and the values in black on a white background. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices provides guidelines for the appearance of speed limit signs. In Alaska and California, speed limits are often labeled "MAXIMUM SPEED" instead. In Oregon, most speed limit signs just say "SPEED" and the number. Canada has similar signs bearing the legend "MAXIMUM" and in km/h instead of mph. "Maximum" is used instead of "Speed Limit" because it has similar meanings in English and French. Australian signs are rectangular but have a red circle like the Vienna Convention signs.
Metric speed limits are no longer included in the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which provides guidelines for speed limit signage,[104] and therefore, new installations are not legal in the United States. Prior to 2009, a speed limit could be defined in kilometers per hour (km/h) as well as miles per hour (mph). The 2003 version of the MUTCD stated that "speed limits shown shall be in multiples of 10km/h or 5mph."[105] If a speed limit sign indicated km/h, the number was circumscribed and "km/h" was written below. Prior to 2003, metric speed limits were designated using the standard speed limit sign, usually with yellow supplemental "METRIC" and "km/h" plaques above it and below it, respectively.[106][107]
Often the start of rural default 'limits' or "prima facie" allowances were signalled by use of the speed derestriction sign, catalogued R4-2 in AS1742.4. (2009 edition has dropped from reference the R4-2 speed derestriction). The speed derestriction sign (//) had developed 'different meaning' over time at state and territory level, although its contract-meaning under "The United Nations Convention on Road Traffic, Signs & Signals" where the sign is catalogued "C,17a", is; "End of all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles" and has never changed. In the Northern Territory, they designated the end of speed restrictions. In Victoria and Western Australia they meant that the rural default speed limit applied, whilst in New South Wales, they indicated that the "prima facie" limit applied.
New South Wales's "prima facie" 50 miles per hour or 80 km/hr limit, often signed by derestriction signs, was only enforced in cases where a driver's speed could be demonstrated to be excessive or dangerous in the context of prevailing road conditions. This was somewhat similar in principle to "reasonable and prudent" limits in other jurisdictions. This led to the widespread but misleading belief that no limit applied, and that derestriction signs indicated an "unlimited" limit. This belief, coupled with repeated studies showing 85th percentile speeds in excess of 120 km/h on major routes, comparatively high road tolls, difficulty in prosecuting speeding offences, and the variance in meaning of the derestriction sign across states, led New South Wales to harmonise its rural default limit to in 1978. The use of derestriction signs in New South Wales was officially discouraged, and on state controlled routes, 100 km/h signs were progressively used instead.
In Iowa, the majority of highways have a speed limit. Rural Interstate Highways carry a limit and a minimum. Urban Interstate limits generally range from , but may be lower in areas. The Interstate 74 Bridge from Bettendorf to Moline, Illinois, for instance, has a limit because the bridge is narrow and has no shoulders. Four-lane roads may have a limit. If the road is built to freeway standards, such as US 20 between I-35 and Dubuque, it may have a minimum speed limit, but otherwise four-lane roads carry no minimum limit so slow-moving farm vehicles may use the roadway.
Along rural primary and secondary roads outside municipal limits in North Carolina, the statutory speed limit is 55 mph unless otherwise posted. Prior to the National Maximum Speed Law that went into effect nationwide, North Carolina used to have 60 mph speed limits on two-lane primary and secondary roads. Inside the municipal limits, the statutory speed limit is 35 mph unless otherwise posted. The downtown statutory speed limit is 20 mph unless otherwise posted. "Reduce Speed Ahead" (RSA) signage is the norm whenever the speed limit drops at any level. Note that the NC DOT uses the imperative verb "reduce" instead of the adjectival form "reduced" that is standard in other states, although some municipalities now use "reduced" in their signs. In addition, a speed limit drop of 15 mph or greater normally includes a second warning sign after the RSA. For example, in a 55 mph zone, a sign prior to the RSA sign would say "BEGIN 35 1000 FEET AHEAD" and then the 35 mph posted speed limit. Three to eight lane boulevards with or without center turn lanes, range from 35 mph to 50 mph within municipal limits statewide.
The maximum speed limit found on highways in Ohio is on the Ohio Turnpike, Rural Freeways, and both the Expressway and Freeway portions of US 30 from Mansfield, Ohio to the Indiana State Line and US 33 from Wapakoneta to St. Mary's Ohio. The speed limit ranges from to on other divided highways. A small portion of the westbound lane (less than 500 feet) of State Route 16 in Licking County is signed at 70 MPH slightly before the route upgrades from a two-lane non-divided to a four-lane divided highway, but otherwise, no non-divided highway in the state currently has a speed limit higher than , though ODOT is now permitted to increase undivided roads to .
A 70 mph speed limit is only allowed on Minnesota's Interstates outside of urban areas. A speed limit of 55 mph is typically used in urban areas where a higher speed limit might be used, but traffic congestion or other reasons require a lower speed limit. Examples include I-94, I-35W and I-35E in and around Minneapolis, Moorhead and Saint Paul. 35E goes down to a speed limit of 45 mph in some areas of Saint Paul. A speed limit of 60 mph is typically used in suburban areas such as I-494 and I-694 loops in the Twin Cities metro area.
The MUTCD's R2 series is for speed limit signs. Some state supplements and state MUTCDs place various speed limit signs in other series. As all situations are not covered, several states have their own standards in addition to the MUTCD. Speed limits in the United States are always in miles per hour. Metric speed limit signs in kilometers per hour are authorized but extremely rare, usually seen near the borders with Canada and Mexico, both of which use the metric system. Many states, however, disallow the use of metric signs on state-maintained roads due to system restrictions, increasing the rarity of such signs.
The MUTCD's R3 series of signs is for lane usage and turn signs. As all situations are not covered, several states have their own standards in addition to the MUTCD.
The signage for advisory speed limits is not defined by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and is therefore not standardised internationally. The United States uses a small yellow sign under the main warning sign, as well as a standalone variation on the standard speed limit sign, with a yellow background instead of a white one, the words "speed limit" omitted and an additional panel stating the type of hazard ahead. Though they list speeds, the U.S. advisory speed signs are classified as warning signs, not regulatory signs, as primary speed signs are. Australia uses a similar design as the U.S. in spite of regulatory speed limit signs being quite different. Germany used a square sign with a blue background and white lettering, similar to the minimum speed limit sign, and New Zealand uses a yellow background with black lettering (similar to the Australian design without the "km/h" lettering). The United Kingdom currently uses an oblong white rectangle with black lettering stating "Max Speed".
Rail speed limits in the United States are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Railroads also implement their own limits and enforce speed limits. Speed restrictions are based on a number of factors including curvature, signaling, track condition, the physical condition of a train, and the presence of grade crossings. Like road speed limits in the United States, speed limits for rail tracks and the trains that run on them use miles per hour (mph).
A speed limit of 60 mph is typically used in urban areas where a higher speed limit might be used, but traffic or geometric conditions constitute a lower speed limit, including the following areas:
Until 2002, Oregon state law required that all speed limit signs omit the word LIMIT from their display. The reasoning behind this was related to the explicit "basic speed" law that existed, which allowed citation for exceeding speeds "too fast for conditions" regardless of the posted speed. The typeface of the numerals on the signs varies greatly depending on which jurisdiction made the sign, due to its non-standardized design. In 2002, the Oregon Department of Transportation revised its supplement to the MUTCD, mandating the omission of the word LIMIT "except" on signs posted on Interstate highways and within city limits. As of 2014, ODOT has replaced nearly all SPEED signs posted on Interstates with SPEED LIMIT signs, but it was left to the various city governments to replace signs in their jurisdictions at their leisure, if at all. Thus, older SPEED signs are still a common sight across the state.
Speed limits in the United States vary depending on jurisdiction, with common in the Western United States and common in the Eastern United States. States may also set special speed limits for trucks and night travel along with minimum speed limits. The highest speed limit in the country is , which is posted on a single stretch of tollway in rural Texas.
The highest posted speed limit in Oregon is 70 mph on I-84 east of The Dalles, I-82 and US 95 (trucks 65 mph). Oregon state statutes allow for a maximum speed limit of 70 mph on rural interstate highways, and the law gives the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) discretion to define which freeway segments to post the 70 mph speed limit. ODOT did not raise speed limits beyond 65 mph on other freeways, and strongly opposed legislative efforts to raise the maximum allowable speed limit. However, in July 2015, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill raising speed limits on several highways in eastern Oregon; the bill included provisions to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on I-84 and US 95. It was announced on October 6, 2017 that the truck speed limit will be increasing to 60 mph on rural interstate highways where the car speed limit is 65 mph as soon as new signs are posted.
Michigan's speed limits on urban Interstates are typically higher than its neighboring states. For example, in the Detroit metro area, I-75 southbound enters Detroit at M-102 (8 Mile Road, exit 59) and maintains a limit all the way until the interchange with I-94 (exit 53), where the speed limit drops to . Other freeways in Detroit such as I-94 and I-96 also have speed limits in and around the city's downtown area, but rise to relatively soon after leaving the downtown area. In Downtown Grand Rapids, I-196 has a speed limit of , the only other urban Interstate Highway to have a reduced speed limit. US 131 in Grand Rapids is one of the only non-Interstate urban freeways in Michigan with a speed limit, which was raised from since 2013. Furthermore, speed limits in smaller cities, such as Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, and Lansing (the state capital) remain at .
A common usage of the phrase is the concept of a ""prima facie" speed limit", which has been used in Australia and the United States. A "prima facie" speed limit is a default speed limit that applies when no other specific speed limit is posted, and may be exceeded by a driver. However, if the driver is detected, and cited by police for exceeding the limit, the onus of proof is on the driver, to show that the speed at which the driver was travelling was safe under the circumstances. In most jurisdictions, this type of speed limit has been replaced by absolute speed limits.