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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
The old universal 55mph speed limit on rural highways has now been largely abandoned, especially in the west. Speed limits for cars on rural Interstates and US highways in the west are now often as high as 65, 70 or even 75mph. There are often lower speed limits at night and for trucks.
Speed limits outside towns are now almost universally ignored, but most motorists only travel at ten or twenty miles per hour above the limit. These statements should in no way be seen as an encouragement for anyone to break a speed limit; I am merely reporting facts here. If there is other traffic around then the safest procedure is to travel at the same speed as the other vehicles.
In towns, speed limits can be as low as 25mph, and are generally obeyed absolutely. It is very rare to see anyone exceeding a speed limit in a town - those drivers that do are almost always stopped by the police.
In many cases there are progressively slower speed limits as you approach a town (55, 45, 35, 25mph), followed by progressively higher limits as you leave it (25, 35, 45, 55mph).
Speed limits in the USA are specified on road signs in miles per hour, while in Canada they are in kilometres per hour. Speedometers in all modern cars are marked in both units.
In some western states cars breaking speed limits on roads outside towns are detected by patrolling aircraft. Throughout the USA and Canada speed limits in towns are often policed by means of radar.
Radar detectors are devices which can be fitted to cars in order to detect the use of speed trap radar systems. The situation regarding the legality of radar detectors is somewhat confused in my mind. There are signs at most state lines indicating that the possession or use of radar detectors is prohibited in the state being entered. However, Steve Rustedski kindly sent me an email saying that while radar detectors are illegal in all states for trucks over a certain weight, they are only illegal for use in private cars, pickups, etc., in the state of Virginia and in Washington D.C. This appears to be confirmed by information I found on the web, including this very useful unofficial site (checked Sep-98), which also covers the related subject of the legality of scanners, which I believe are devices which can be used to pick up radio transmissions made by the police and other emergency services.
I previously had the impression that the possession or use of both radar detectors and scanners was illegal throughout Canada. However, in August 1999 I received an email from Corey Lange of Kelowna, British Columbia telling me that radar detectors and scanners are legal in that province but radar detectors are illegal in Ontario.
Unlike most other states, Montana's daytime highway speed limit (in the absence of any posted limits) is now "reasonable and prudent", subject to interpretation by Highway Patrol officers.
A speed zone is a section of road with a lower speed limit than other sections.
James Cloninger of Columbus, Ohio kindly sent me this information:
While there are variations, generally the speed limits in the USA break down as follows:
Limited access highways (Interstates, divided highways (dual carriageways) outside of city limits): State speed limit (either 65 to 75mph, or in Montana "reasonable and prudent"), 55 to 65mph for trucks, often 10mph lower at night
Divided highways (dual carriageways) with crossroads: 55 to 65mph depending on the state
Multilane wide streets within city limits: 45 to 50mph
Most major streets and thoroughfares: 35mph
Major streets within high-density built-up residential areas: 25 to 30mph
Residential streets: 25mph
Parking lots (car parks): 15 to 20mph (and often unsigned)
Alleys: 10 to 15mph (often unsigned, and the speed limit may vary depending on the condition of the road)
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Most recently modified 21-Dec-02