the speed limit changed from 55 to 70 in texas in 2001.
the speed limit changed from 55 to 70 in texas in 2001.
when did the speed limit change from 55 to 70 in texas?
2001
congress lifted all federal speed limit controls in the national highway system designation act of 1995, returning all speed limit determination authority to the states effective december 8, 1995. several states immediately reverted to already existing laws. for example, most texas rural limits that were above in 1974 immediately reverted to 70mph (110km/h), causing some legal confusion before the new signs were posted. montana reverted to non-numerical speed limits on most rural highways, but its legislature adopted as a limit in 1999; as a result, according to insurance institute for highway safety researcher anne mccartt, "what's impressive is the huge drop in the percent of vehicles going very fast... the proportion of vehicles exceeding 75 mph, the limit set [by montana] in 1999, tumbled 45 percent. the proportion surpassing 80 mph plummeted 85 percent. large trucks slowed, too." (she did not mention that the iihs survey of traffic speeds on interstate highways in 2006 she referred to, found montana, as compared with new mexico and nevada, had the highest compliance with the 75 mph speed limit on rural interstates: "76 percent.") hawaii was the last state to raise its speed limit when, in response to public outcry after an experiment with traffic enforcement cameras in 2002, it raised the maximum speed limit on parts of interstates h-1 and h-3 to 60mph (100km/h).
national maximum speed law
normally, the end of a lowered speed limit is marked with a sign reading "state speed limit 55", indicating that the statewide speed limit applies. in areas where a curve or other road condition makes the state speed limit inadvisable, a sign reading "end xx m.p.h. limit" may be used, with xx replaced with the speed limit value. a "state speed limit 55" sign should be installed after the curve. this sign is sometimes misused in locations where the speed limit changes to a speed other than 55 mph. this is mainly applied on both undivided and divided rural non-freeway routes. though rarely seen, some divided roadways are set as low as 45 mph but mainly stay at the state speed limit of 55 mph; in one exceptional case, that of the scajaquada expressway, the speed limit was lowered to 30 mph in 2016 after a fatality.
speed limits in the united states by jurisdiction