they changed the speed limit to 55 in 1974.
they changed the speed limit to 55 in 1974.
when did they change the speed limit to 55?
1974
speed limits for all classes of roads and areas are set by statute in new mexico. with the exception of wartime, new mexico had no default numeric speed limit until the early 1950s. prior to the national 55 mph limit in 1974, the speed limit on rural interstates was 75 miles per hour during the day and 70 mph at night. primary highways in open areas had daytime speed limits of 70 mph and nighttime ones of 60 mph. secondary highways in open areas had daytime speed limits of 60 mph and nighttime ones of 50 mph. before the end of federal speed controls, the maximum speed limit was 65 mph on interstate routes and 55 mph elsewhere. in may 1996 legislation enacted by governor gary johnson raised the absolute speed limit in new mexico to 75 mph. signs are posted on the vast majority of the mileage of interstate routes to that effect. the default speed limit for any road where no speed limit is posted is 55 mph.
speed limits in the united states by jurisdiction
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