Speed limits in the US?

[reetired]

In regards to California...55 mph max towing any vehicle. Two right lanes unless it's a two lane roadway.

Strictly enforced by CHP.... to say that "it's selective enforcement" is incorrect. If you're driving your car at 70 mph and the limit is 65 mph..you can't very well say,"I was only going 70!" Speeding is speeding. Enforcement is to ensure the safety of ALL motorists on the road.

Ignorance is no exception...knowing the laws is as easy as reading the posted signs.

Safe travels to all!

[rabbit]

I like the double nickel. It has worked for me on DE 1, PA Turnpike, the PA Blue Route, I-295 in Jersey and a few other limited access highways. My nerves won't take the volume or the wide range of speeds on I-95 over most of its length even without a tow. I avoid the Balto/Washington corridor like the plague and even local runs like Wilmington to the MD line can be hair raising. I prefer to refuse to play the game but a high percentage winning strategy most likely means not taking the trailer on some highways, in my case if no others.

jack

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Just because it's not posted doesn't mean it isn't so. Also ignorance of the law is generally not accepted as an excuse.

I agree. The only reason to post speed limits at all is that they vary from location to location, so without the signs there would be no way to know what the speed is for a particular road. A limit which applies everywhere (such as "max speed for trailers 55 mph regardless of posted limit") doesn't need signs... any more than there needs to be a sign that says "no driving while drunk" for that to be illegal.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

For the most part, I agree with this statement. However, how is one to know? Say I am doing a cross country tour of the US, how could I possibly know and remember every unposted speed limit?

The same way you know whether you can turn right on a red light (after stopping), or if you can tow two trailers behind your truck, or any of the other rules... looking it up, and maybe (although this can be unreliable) following the example of local drivers.

I certainly don't know these rules for everywhere I've driven. A couple years ago we drove across six provinces (which is like crossing a dozen states) and I'll admit that I didn't research road rules in any of them. I think in practice, while ignorance of the law is not an excuse, for someone with an out-of-province/state license it seems likely to be an adequate reason to be let off with a warning.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Of course, common sense will help out some. I know all rural roads in Alberta are 80 kph, unless otherwise posted.

... and that varies by province and state, without signs to tell us that. It won't be a lot different from the same values (30 mph / 50 km/h urban, 50 mph / 80 km/h rural) in any province or state, but it's still our problem to know the right limit. Maybe common sense says that if you're the only one doing something, it might not be locally appropriate.

[Brian B-P]

One tip for traveling: stop at the "welcome centre" typically found just inside a province or state, especially on major tourist routes. They may have free maps, with local road regulations, and perhaps brochures with this sort of information. They can have other information, too; when we drove into New Brunswick, they showed us which half of the province to avoid with our RV for the next couple of days, until the current hurricane finished passing through.

The auto club (AAA/CAA) maps and tourbooks also contain local variations in rules, although they are not great on towing-specific rules (as we have seen earlier in this discussion).

Originally Posted by reetired

Ignorance is no exception...knowing the laws is as easy as reading the posted signs.

Well, not always. As Jim has pointed out, some things are not posted.

[RogerDat]

I'm with rabbit, double nickel is my highway baseline when towing. I think it is rare to get a 5 mph over ticket so I may end up cruising at 60 mph sometimes.

Generally on interstate highway in pretty much every state 55 mph would be legal. I think I have seen some speeds posted a 50 mph on interstate in urban areas.

Now if you want to go faster it's up to you but ignorance of specific state max towing speed is not going to beat a ticket.

On two lane highways all I can say is that speed limit is the UPPER limit. It is the max speed a car without the added weight and handling issues of a trailer can go. Hmm maybe I should go a little slower than that if I have a trailer behind me. Not so slow I'm leading a rolling traffic jam.

Watch the mirrors, move a little to the right to be easy to pass when oncoming lane is clear and traffic is behind me. On the other hand if the person behind me really thinks they need to go 5-10 mph over the posted limit, I say they needed to leave earlier.