Least Common Speed Limit

[1995hoo]

I'd say 50 is a better choice: Most places have some 50 zones, but there's nowhere where they're particularly prevalent.

Go drive in New England.  50 is everywhere over there.  Vermont in particular uses it as the default and won't sign 55 on anything that isn't limited access.

Whoops... Yes, I did forget about Vermont and their 50 mph default. That might be the only state where 50 is that common though, as almost everywhere else uses 55 or higher as their rural default.

It's really common in MA, NH, and ME too.

I seem to recall seeing a fair amount of 50-mph limits in New York City over the years (the West Shore, Staten Island, and Gowanus Expressways and the Belt Parkway have all been posted at 50 for as long as I can remember, for example). Of course that's not necessarily relevant to the state as a whole.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Indiana-

Interstates: 50 mph (Indianapolis in downtown) 60 mph speed limits (Evansville and right before the bridges in Louisville)
Divided highways: I don't know...
Two-lane highways: 50 mph speed limits (it's only used in busy stretches with a lot of driveways)

There are no freeways posted at 60 in Indiana. The Louisville approach goes 70->65->55. The Evansville approach doesn't get above 55.

I don't recall ever seeing 50 posted on a 4-lane non-freeway, but can't say for sure it doesn't exist somewhere.

50 is not uncommon on 2 lane roads but still has to be the least common speed limit in Indiana. There are plenty of 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, and 20 in cities and towns.

The Louisville approach is now 70->65->60 thanks to Indiana's part of the reconstruction of the Ohio River Bridges Project, and it's now a modern stretch of road heading to/from Louisville. Also, all of I-265 in Indiana is now signed at 65 thanks to a speed limit study done by INDOT around the Louisville metro area.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.271764,-85.74721,3a,75y,154.34h,88.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDkBt6DfuL6hKejwLO2MMeg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Evansville actually does have a section that is signed at 60 that starts at MP 10 heading south on I-69.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.0228261,-87.4712901,3a,75y,165.93h,86.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suvqeTyAp5yZciGNatoJlXg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Ketchup99]

I'd say 50 is a better choice: Most places have some 50 zones, but there's nowhere where they're particularly prevalent.

Go drive in New England.  50 is everywhere over there.  Vermont in particular uses it as the default and won't sign 55 on anything that isn't limited access.

Whoops... Yes, I did forget about Vermont and their 50 mph default. That might be the only state where 50 is that common though, as almost everywhere else uses 55 or higher as their rural default.

New Jersey, too.

[deathtopumpkins]

I'd say 50 is a better choice: Most places have some 50 zones, but there's nowhere where they're particularly prevalent.

Go drive in New England.  50 is everywhere over there.  Vermont in particular uses it as the default and won't sign 55 on anything that isn't limited access.

Whoops... Yes, I did forget about Vermont and their 50 mph default. That might be the only state where 50 is that common though, as almost everywhere else uses 55 or higher as their rural default.

New Jersey, too.

Maryland and Delaware also default to 50 for rural 2-lanes.

[kphoger]

FWIW, 50 mph is the basic speed limit in Nebraska for all unpaved roads.

60-6,186.  Speed; maximum limits; signs.

(1) Except when a special hazard exists that requires lower speed for compliance with section 60-6,185, the limits set forth in this section and sections 60-6,187, 60-6,188, 60-6,305, and 60-6,313 shall be the maximum lawful speeds unless reduced pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and no person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed in excess of such maximum limits:

(c) Fifty miles per hour upon any highway that is gravel or not dustless surfaced;

[NWI_Irish96]

The Louisville approach is now 70->65->60 thanks to Indiana's part of the reconstruction of the Ohio River Bridges Project, and it's now a modern stretch of road heading to/from Louisville. Also, all of I-265 in Indiana is now signed at 65 thanks to a speed limit study done by INDOT around the Louisville metro area.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.271764,-85.74721,3a,75y,154.34h,88.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sDkBt6DfuL6hKejwLO2MMeg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Evansville actually does have a section that is signed at 60 that starts at MP 10 heading south on I-69.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.0228261,-87.4712901,3a,75y,165.93h,86.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1suvqeTyAp5yZciGNatoJlXg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I-65 does go 70->65->55. There is a 60 sign posted just before the state line because that's the speed limit in Kentucky but it does go down to 55 before that.

I never knew about the 60 section on I-69.

[doorknob60]

I'll do Idaho:

20: Very common, used as the default residential speed limit in many cities (eg. Boise and Nampa), and some downtown streets. Also school zones.
25: Incredibly common, it's the default residential speed limit in many cities (eg. Meridian and Eagle), and used on many downtowns in both large and small cities.
30: Less common than 25 or 35, but at least in Boise they're quite common on 2 lane collector type roads. Honestly not sure how common they are outside of Boise, I don't think I've seen a 30 on a state maintained road for example.
35: Incredibly common, pretty much the default speed for suburban arterial type roads.
40: Common on newer suburban arterials with less driveways and businesses. Less common than 35 or 45.
45: Quite common, both in suburban type roads, and sometimes on rural mountainous highways.
50: Used in similar situations to 45, probably about as common. 50 also seems to be standard for county-maintained 2 lane roads/highways that warrant higher speeds. A notable state highway example is US-12 west of the MT border is a very long 50 MPH stretch, but also suburban examples like part of Eagle Rd in Meridian and State St/ID-44 in Boise.
55: Very common, a default for numerous 2 lane highways.
60: Somewhat uncommon. In Southern Idaho, it's very uncommon, I can think of I-184, a small part of ID-55 near Horseshoe Bend, part of US-93 near Twin Falls, and Addison Ave (a county road!) near Twin Falls. Though there are probably more I don't know about. It's a lot more common in Northern Idaho, with it being used quite a bit on roads like US-95.
65: Very common. The default on many of the more rural and straight/flat 2 lane highways (eg. most of US-20, large parts of US-95, and many more). Also the urban freeway speed limit.
70: Used to be very uncommon with probably only I-90 using it, but now it is used on non-interstate freeways like US-20 east of Idaho Falls and US-95 North of CDA. Also some very rural 2 lane highways were raised to 70 like US-20 between Idaho Falls and Arco, and some other highways in that area like I believe both ID-22 and ID-33.
75: This is easily the winner. As far as I know, only I-90 uses 75 MPH, and I'm not exactly sure how long the 75 is posted, but not super long as that highway fluctuates between 55 and 75.
80: Very common, used on all rural segments of I-84, I-86, and I-15.

[vdeane]

I'd say 50 is a better choice: Most places have some 50 zones, but there's nowhere where they're particularly prevalent.

Go drive in New England.  50 is everywhere over there.  Vermont in particular uses it as the default and won't sign 55 on anything that isn't limited access.

Whoops... Yes, I did forget about Vermont and their 50 mph default. That might be the only state where 50 is that common though, as almost everywhere else uses 55 or higher as their rural default.

It's really common in MA, NH, and ME too.

I seem to recall seeing a fair amount of 50-mph limits in New York City over the years (the West Shore, Staten Island, and Gowanus Expressways and the Belt Parkway have all been posted at 50 for as long as I can remember, for example). Of course that's not necessarily relevant to the state as a whole.

Yeah, NYC set 50 as the maximum speed limit in the city, so that's what all the freeways that don't have a lower limit are set at.

[SkyPesos]

60 is surprisingly uncommon in Ohio (at least for Cincinnati and Columbus). Only freeway I know of in the Cincinnati area that uses 60 is Reagan Hwy west of I-75. Urban freeways are either signed at 55 or 65.

Meanwhile in my old home of St Louis, 60 seems to be the default speed limit of freeways in the Missouri side of the metro, with a drop to 55 on I-70 when nearing downtown. 65 is rare here, as the interstates go directly from 60 to 70 when leaving the suburbs.

In China, 90 (km/h) and 110 are rare numbers for speed limits, because of their tendency to use multiples of 20 for speed limit on freeways, so 80, 100 and 120 are the most common. Though both 90 and 110 are used in some places. It seems like 80+ are only used on freeways and expressways, so major urban arterials/boulevards have to use a speed limit of 70 or below, and every number in increments of 10 from 70 and under are used frequently.

[webny99]

Whoops... Yes, I did forget about Vermont and their 50 mph default. That might be the only state where 50 is that common though, as almost everywhere else uses 55 or higher as their rural default.

It's really common in MA, NH, and ME too.

I seem to recall seeing a fair amount of 50-mph limits in New York City over the years (the West Shore, Staten Island, and Gowanus Expressways and the Belt Parkway have all been posted at 50 for as long as I can remember, for example). Of course that's not necessarily relevant to the state as a whole.

Yeah, NYC set 50 as the maximum speed limit in the city, so that's what all the freeways that don't have a lower limit are set at.

Yeah, perhaps 50 is more common than I gave it credit for, but with regard to NYC, that isn't reflective of the state as a whole. Is there even a dozen examples of 50 zones north of the Catskills? I think there's a couple in the Finger Lakes, but am having a brain freeze as to where they are at the moment. In most cases, if 55 is to high it's 45 instead.

[Revive 755]

Meanwhile in my old home of St Louis, 60 seems to be the default speed limit of freeways in the Missouri side of the metro, with a drop to 55 on I-70 when nearing downtown. 65 is rare here, as the interstates go directly from 60 to 70 when leaving the suburbs.

* I-44 has an annoyingly long 65 mph segment west of MO 141 to the Franklin County line, partly due to a number of fatal wrecks near Six Flags.  Used to go from 60 to 70 west of MO 141.
* I-55 has a 65 mph segment from south of Butler Hill Road to around Richardson Road (where the limit goes up to 70).  Used to go from 70 to 60 around Richardson Road.
* US 40 has a 65 mph segment west of Route K in St. Charles County
* I think I-70 spends some time at 65 in St. Charles County before going to 70 west of Wentzville Parkway
* MO 21 in Jefferson County is posted at 65.
* US 67 goes to 65 a little bit west of I-55 in Jefferson County

[thspfc]

I'd be willing to bet that there is not a single 60 MPH speed limit sign in WI. 50 and 40 are also somewhat uncommon.

[fwydriver405]

Here's what I've seen so far around Maine, NH and Massachusetts (warning, this is a bit long):



   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

SL MPH (km/h)	Maine	New Hampshire	Massachusetts
10 (16)	ME Tpke toll plaza speed limit. Extremely uncommon  outside of the ME Tpke.	Extremely uncommon	Extremely uncommon
15 (24)	Default and maximum school speed limit, extremely uncommon  outside of school zones.	Extremely uncommon	Extremely uncommon
20 (32)	Extremely uncommon	Common speed limit for school zones in an existing 25 (40) or 30 (48) zone. Extremely uncommon elsewhere, though I have seen it on a few Portsmouth residential streets.	Common speed limit for school zones in a "thickly settled" area. Some (residential) streets and a few side roads post this as well.
25 (40)	Common residential/urban speed limit	Standard residential/urban speed limit. Toll plaza speed limit for E-ZPass lanes.	Common residential/urban speed limit
30 (48)	Residential/urban speed limit. Portland posts most streets at 30 (48)	Residential/urban speed limit. Seen it used in a few school zones (commonly when limit was 40 (64).	Common residential/urban speed limit. Seen it used in a few school zones.
35 (56)	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few back roads as well.	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few back roads as well.	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few back roads as well.
40 (64)	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few rural highways as well.	Very common on suburban arterial type roads, especially thru Nashua	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few rural highways as well. Inclement weather, such as snow, will lower the speed limit to this.
45 (72)	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few rural highways as well. Inclement weather, such as snow, will lower the speed limit to this.	Common on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few rural highways as well. Inclement weather, such as snow, will lower the speed limit to this.	Haven't seen it much on suburban arterial type roads as well as a few rural highways as well. This is the speed limit on I-90 and 93 thru Downtown Boston.
50 (80)	Very ubiquitous on rural (2-lane) highways, this is the limit on I-295 thru Downtown Portland.	Very ubiquitous on rural (2-lane) highways, this is the limit on I-293 thru Downtown Manchester.	Very ubiquitous on both rural and urban highways, as well as a few limited-access arterials
55 (88)	A few, but common (2-lane) rural highways here have this limit posted. This is also the limit on I-295 from MM0-4.46.	NHDOT tends to only post this limit on "higher quality" highways. This is also the default urban speed limit on most freeways.	Have only seen this limit on freeways (and portions of MA-2) so far.
60 (96)	Only on these stretches: I-95 from MM43.51 to 51.62 and 180.89 to 185.73 I-395 from MM0.0 to 2.05 US 1 on the limited access segment between Brunswick and Bath All of the Scarborough Connector (unsigned SR 701) and the Falmouth Spur	Extremely uncommon (seen it used in a work zone once), no highways in the area has this limit posted	Only have seen it from MA 3 from the Braintree Split to somewhere around the Sagamore Bridge
65 (104)	Former common non-urban freeway speed limit, now only: I-95: South of MM2.2, 108.09 - 111.42, 125.72 - 131.87, and   for a short stretch east of MM 300.05 (NB) I-295 from MM9.45 to 31.04 I-395 east of MM 2.05	Common non-urban freeway speed limit	Common non-urban freeway speed limit
70 (112)	Only on these stretches: I-95 from MM2.2 - 43.51, 51.62 - 108.09, 111.42 - 125.72, 131.87 - 180.89, and 185.73 - 191.37 I-295 north of MM31.04 to northern terminus	Only on I-93 from MM 45.3 to the Vermont border, excluding the Franconia Notch Parkway	No highways in the area has this limit
75 (120)	Only on I-95 from MM191.37 to 300.05 (NB) and 302.93 (SB)	No highways in the area has this limit	No highways in the area has this limit

[hotdogPi]

I've seen more 45s than 50s in Massachusetts.

[Pink Jazz]

In Puerto Rico, 50 is common on expressways.  55 is common on non-tolled freeways and PR-22 in the San Juan metro area.  The only 60 that I know of is on part of PR-53 in the east side of the island.  65 as far as I know is only on the tolled Autopistas.

[CoreySamson]

I'll break down Texas:

20: Very uncommon from what I've seen.
25: Common residential limit.
30: Fairly common, but not used as much as 25 and 35.
35: Common on many different types of urban roads.
40: Hardly used from my experience.
45: Ubiquitous on many different types of roads.
50: Used more than 40 but less than 30, so relatively uncommon.
55: Used a bit more than 50. Extremely rarely found on freeways, but many state and US highways use this speed limit for some amount of time.
60: The default urban freeway speed limit. Not really used much of anywhere else.
65: Very common to see this limit posted on suburban freeways and ruralish highways.
70: Uncommon, less than 50 but more than 40.
75: Very common rural speed limit on freeways, highways, and even two-lane roads.
80: Only on extremely rural freeways.
85: Only on TX-130.

Edit: Updated 55 to reflect kphoger's counterexample

[fwydriver405]

I've seen more 45s than 50s in Massachusetts.

What kind of roads have you seen more 45 (72)'s? The only 45's in Mass I've seen so far are on the freeway...

[hotdogPi]

I've seen more 45s than 50s in Massachusetts.

What kind of roads have you seen more 45 (72)'s? The only 45's in Mass I've seen so far are on the freeway...

MA 114 in North Andover/Middleton, MA 110 in Dracut and Methuen/Haverhill (these are two separate segments), and I believe a short segment of 28 just north of 125. 50 is pretty much nonexistent here except for 125 between 93 and 114, which is an expressway.

[Rothman]

I've seen more 45s than 50s in Massachusetts.

What kind of roads have you seen more 45 (72)'s? The only 45's in Mass I've seen so far are on the freeway...

MA 114 in North Andover/Middleton, MA 110 in Dracut and Methuen/Haverhill (these are two separate segments), and I believe a short segment of 28 just north of 125. 50 is pretty much nonexistent here except for 125 between 93 and 114, which is an expressway.

50 is all over rural roads in western and central MA, though.

[kphoger]

Texas:

55: Not found on freeways

Wow, I this hadn't occurred to me before now.

[jakeroot]

Texas:

55: Not found on freeways

Wow, I this hadn't occurred to me before now.

I thought it was all over Houston. When did this change?

[sprjus4]

Texas:

55: Not found on freeways

Wow, I this hadn't occurred to me before now.

I thought it was all over Houston. When did this change?

Houston is mostly 60-65 mph IIRC.

[jakeroot]

Texas:

55: Not found on freeways

Wow, I this hadn't occurred to me before now.

I thought it was all over Houston. When did this change?

Houston is mostly 60-65 mph IIRC.

From Googling: looks like 55 was removed from Houston freeways nearly 20 years ago. Where have I been....

[kphoger]

Texas:

55: Not found on freeways

Wow, I this hadn't occurred to me before now.

Finally found a counterexample.

I-27 NB, approaching downtown Amarillo

[sprjus4]

There are no freeways posted at 60 in Indiana.

The US-41 / US-50 freeway around Vincennes, IN is posted at 60 mph.