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Speeding & Speed Limit Guide

Though driving is considered a privilege throughout the world and people must pass driving and written tests to be legal, many people break the law when driving.

Finding it difficult to avoid the lure of driving faster than the posted speed limits, several states follow a more lenient approach to drivers going slightly above the speed limit. However, this is only held true when the driver is following all other laws and the driving conditions aren’t inhibited by weather or construction factors, for example.

Getting arrested for speeding is the tip of the iceberg for the hours and days of stress waiting in jail. For people not wanting to wait in jail, a bail is a great option.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

In today’s digital era, there are plenty of resources to ensure people can stay on top of the speed limit before the law is on top of them. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety keeps the most recently updated speed limits on various roads for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia for cars and commercial trucks. President Richard Nixon signed a law in 1974 making the national speed limit 55 mph during rising fuel prices, but this was lifted fully in 1995, and power was given back to the states to determine their own speed limits. Currently, over 41 states have some part of their roadways at or above 70 mph. Most roads in America are well over 50 years old and weren’t all designed for consistently heavy traffic at higher speeds. These older roads just don’t have the ability to handle heavy amounts of speeding traffic due to the friction caused on the road itself by the tires and weight of modern cars and commercial vehicles.

Population Density

Population density is a large reason behind speed limits and why law enforcement is so strict in cracking down on speeders. People driving through an area may not realize just how many people live in the area, and by collectively slowing down, whole communities are safer by reducing pedestrian and vehicular accidents. States do recognize the freedom drivers should have to safely drive fast and safety features are being incorporated into new roadways. The new 21st century State Highway 130 wraps the east side of Austin, Texas and stretches 40 miles. Displaying engineering capabilities of handling higher speed vehicles, they’ve posted a speed limit of 85 mph making it the fastest stretch of legal road in America. As America moves forward in these developments, more people will see the freedom to drive faster.

A detailed explanation of the three-speed limit types can be found online Of the three listed, absolute, presumed, or basic speed limit laws, the states following basic speed limit laws often seek sentencing despite a driver following the speed limit. This law means you will be held accountable for not using common sense in certain driving conditions, such as during heavy rain. If an accident was to happen at the speed of the posted speed limit, the person may still find themselves in trouble for not abiding by the basic law to slow down in bad weather.

DrivingLaws lists several reasons speeding can turn into offenses worse than speeding and jail time. Excessive speeding, for example over 100 mph, could turn into a charge of reckless driving. This type of charge is more difficult to defend and costs more than a speeding ticket, along with potential jail time of up to 90 days. Defenses will vary in court based on the type of speed limit law enforced by each state. The only guaranteed way to save on the cost, time, and legwork speeding could entail are to drive the posted speed limit and slow down in unexpected circumstances, like bad weather or construction.