Being in Virginia, minimum speed limits aren't common.
I've seen them out in pictures, and realized that minimum speed limit signs don't work, since people may stop in certain cases or get caught in traffic jams. So, what is their purpose? Try to speed up commuters and keep them up? Only use them on rural highways? Or are other stops exemptions? :hmmm:
Sound off below.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on November 19, 2015, 09:32:50 PM
Being in Virginia, minimum speed limits aren't common.
I've seen them out in pictures, and realized that minimum speed limit signs don't work, since people may stop in certain cases or get caught in traffic jams. So, what is their purpose? Try to speed up commuters and keep them up? Only use them on rural highways? Or are other stops exemptions? :hmmm:
Sound off below.
Provide an easier reason to pull over/ticket people for going too slow and blocking traffic. New York typically doesn't use them, but the LIE and I-787 have them to keep traffic moving. The LIE in particular is so over capacity that a small issue, such as a person driving slow, can create a ripple effect causing traffic jams along the entire length of the expressway lasting for hours. Of course, they won't pull you over if you can't safely go the minimum speed due to traffic or weather conditions.
How many states actually post minimum signs? I know here in Canada, Quebec I believe is the only place to sign them on their Autoroutes.
Quote from: SignGeek101 on November 19, 2015, 11:02:10 PM
How many states actually post minimum signs? I know here in Canada, Quebec I believe is the only place to sign them on their Autoroutes.
Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont have posted signs. It is possible that more states have them.
Quote from: cl94 on November 19, 2015, 11:21:08 PM
Quote from: SignGeek101 on November 19, 2015, 11:02:10 PM
How many states actually post minimum signs? I know here in Canada, Quebec I believe is the only place to sign them on their Autoroutes.
Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont have posted signs. It is possible that more states have them.
South Carolina has had them since at least the late 1960s...
Mike
Utah uses them, but sometimes with a "when conditions permit" banner
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on November 19, 2015, 09:32:50 PM
Being in Virginia, minimum speed limits aren't common.
I've seen them out in pictures, and realized that minimum speed limit signs don't work, since people may stop in certain cases or get caught in traffic jams. So, what is their purpose? Try to speed up commuters and keep them up? Only use them on rural highways? Or are other stops exemptions? :hmmm:
Sound off below.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has a 40 mph minimum speed limit.
Wisconsin used to post a minimum speed of 45 along Milwaukee freeways. The signs were taken down and weren't replaced a few years ago.
Quote from: MillTheRoadgeek on November 19, 2015, 09:32:50 PM
Being in Virginia, minimum speed limits aren't common.
I've seen them out in pictures, and realized that minimum speed limit signs don't work, since people may stop in certain cases or get caught in traffic jams. So, what is their purpose? Try to speed up commuters and keep them up? Only use them on rural highways? Or are other stops exemptions? :hmmm:
Sound off below.
The purpose is to reduce speed differential. They only apply if traffic conditions permit, but if the road is going 70 and you're at 40... it can be pretty dangerous when people come up on you. I believe Florida has a statewide law 15mph under the speed limit is a minimum unless posted otherwise. It also generally applies for lower speed vehices... a [street legal] golf cart can operate on roads with speed limits up to 30mph as the maximum speed is generally 15-19mph. A scooter with a top speed of 40mph cannot operate on roads above 55mph.
New Hampshire has minimum speed limits (usually 45), too.
Quote from: cl94 on November 19, 2015, 11:21:08 PM
Quote from: SignGeek101 on November 19, 2015, 11:02:10 PM
How many states actually post minimum signs? I know here in Canada, Quebec I believe is the only place to sign them on their Autoroutes.
Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Vermont have posted signs. It is possible that more states have them.
Illinois is 45 mph. Michigan is 55 mph on 70 mph roads. Iowa has a minimum of 40 mph.
Quote from: UCFKnights on November 20, 2015, 02:53:06 AM
...a [street legal] golf cart can operate on roads with speed limits up to 30mph as the maximum speed is generally 15-19mph. A scooter with a top speed of 40mph cannot operate on roads above 55mph.
Street Legal Golf Carts in Florida can be driven on roads in the travel lanes up to 35 mph, and the golf carts are permitted to go up to 25 mph.
Non-street legal golf carts can drive on shoulders marked for golf carts. The cart's permitted max speed is 20 mph.
Driving along Interstate 20 east of Atlanta, the speed limit is 70 mph and the posted minimum, often on a separate sign, is 40 mph.
That makes absolutely no sense at all! If there is a back up, you cannot do the minimum, of course. Plus many times I want to do a specific speed limit and you get a bunch of idiots in front of you just driving slow for the heck of it, or must slow down to peek their curiosity to see why a cop pulled over another vehicle or something. Believe it or not, many times people want to drive faster but cannot do to side by side morons blocking the road.
Quote from: roadman65 on November 20, 2015, 08:24:29 AM
That makes absolutely no sense at all! If there is a back up, you cannot do the minimum, of course. Plus many times I want to do a specific speed limit and you get a bunch of idiots in front of you just driving slow for the heck of it, or must slow down to peek their curiosity to see why a cop pulled over another vehicle or something. Believe it or not, many times people want to drive faster but cannot do to side by side morons blocking the road.
I agree. If they did that in New York, you wouldn't be able to get everywhere because everything would be LOS F.
Georgia has a 40 mph minimum posted fairly frequently on freeways in rural/suburban areas at least; unlike most states that post minimums, I've never seen it posted on a combined sign.
^^ A combined sign like this?
https://goo.gl/maps/pnMKHKhqio82
:bigass:
Quote from: Brandon on November 20, 2015, 11:40:59 AM
^^ A combined sign like this?
https://goo.gl/maps/pnMKHKhqio82
:bigass:
I think they're referring more to signs like this (https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6248196,-83.1705625,3a,48.3y,145.22h,79.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sn0aMjF9-q8fe3iGq9Z0HOQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that have no separation.
Quote from: roadman65 on November 20, 2015, 08:24:29 AM
That makes absolutely no sense at all! If there is a back up, you cannot do the minimum, of course. Plus many times I want to do a specific speed limit and you get a bunch of idiots in front of you just driving slow for the heck of it, or must slow down to peek their curiosity to see why a cop pulled over another vehicle or something. Believe it or not, many times people want to drive faster but cannot do to side by side morons blocking the road.
I think the point of minimum speed limits was to prevent folks in clapped-out beaters using a tow cord to pull another rambling wreck with a bad alternator, so as not to hold up the flow of I-95.
It wasn't about enforcement during reduced levels of service; you know, when the patrol cars are stopping folks for HOV violations.
Quote from: cl94 on November 19, 2015, 10:47:27 PM
Provide an easier reason to pull over/ticket people for going too slow and blocking traffic. New York typically doesn't use them, but the LIE and I-787 have them to keep traffic moving.
NY 27 and NY 135 have them too.
Quote
The LIE in particular is so over capacity that a small issue, such as a person driving slow, can create a ripple effect causing traffic jams along the entire length of the expressway lasting for hours. Of course, they won't pull you over if you can't safely go the minimum speed due to traffic or weather conditions.
That's something I've always been concerned about. I've always wondered what happens if traffic or weather forces one to go below the minimum and then encounter a cop doing speed enforcement.
CT had them on I-95. In 2009 or 2010, the speed limit was 65 and minimum was 40. This was east of New Haven. A 25 mph buffer isn't quite the best...
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 12:24:23 PM
I think they're referring more to signs like this (https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6248196,-83.1705625,3a,48.3y,145.22h,79.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sn0aMjF9-q8fe3iGq9Z0HOQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) that have no separation.
Yep. Georgia (almost?) exclusively posts separate, independently-mounted minimum speed signs, often well away from the nearest speed limit sign. See e.g. here (https://www.google.ca/maps/@32.8691802,-83.7574093,3a,75y,195.94h,81.8t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snfdBGCtSvd89nfSfNsyetw!2e0!5s20131101T000000!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en), where the nearest speed limit signs are several miles away.
Quote from: noelbotevera on November 20, 2015, 05:14:45 PM
CT had them on I-95. In 2009 or 2010, the speed limit was 65 and minimum was 40. This was east of New Haven. A 25 mph buffer isn't quite the best...
When CT had 55mph statewide the minimum was 40mph but when sections were increased to 65mph, the minimum stayed at 40mph, they should've increased it to at least 45mph.
I don't think you'll get ticketed if going under 40 in a traffic jam or snow conditions...probably in good weather when a bozo is a road hazard doing welllll below everyone else.
PS...to the above NYC posts....when I drive in NYC, I find if you follow the rules of the road, you're fine, but when you are allowed to right turn on red and don't and just sit there, cut in to another lane, stop in the lane for some reason, or just pokey, etc etc is when people honk at you.
Missouri used to post a minimum of 40.
I remember there used to be a Minimum 40 sign on US-33 northbound just south of I-70 in Columbus -- right before a stoplight.
Quote from: vdeane on November 20, 2015, 04:42:38 PM
Quote from: cl94 on November 19, 2015, 10:47:27 PM
Provide an easier reason to pull over/ticket people for going too slow and blocking traffic. New York typically doesn't use them, but the LIE and I-787 have them to keep traffic moving.
NY 27 and NY 135 have them too.
Quote
The LIE in particular is so over capacity that a small issue, such as a person driving slow, can create a ripple effect causing traffic jams along the entire length of the expressway lasting for hours. Of course, they won't pull you over if you can't safely go the minimum speed due to traffic or weather conditions.
That's something I've always been concerned about. I've always wondered what happens if traffic or weather forces one to go below the minimum and then encounter a cop doing speed enforcement.
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
The goal in Regions 8, 10, and 11 (and a lot of 1) is to keep traffic moving. Pulling someone over slows traffic, especially with the move over law that effectively closes a lane whenever someone is pulled over. At least in the 80s, they only looked for unsafe drivers during peak periods (drunks, driving excessively slow, weaving, driving significantly faster than all other traffic) on LI, basically the stuff that is highly likely to create serious accidents. They save the speed stuff for midday and nights (and they get plenty by hiding behind parkway bridges).
Minnesota is incredibly consistent posting the minimums (on combined signs with the maximum) on nearly every Interstate speed limit sign, although in urban cores the minimum is not always posted. I've never seen a minimum speed posted on any other kind of route, though. The minimum is 40 MPH pretty much throughout, except on a couple stretches of 35E and 35W in their river valleys where the minimum is 30-35.
This is what a typical MN Interstate speed limit sign looks like; it even has a line separating the maximum and minimum speeds.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.3674887,-92.7969003,3a,75y,227.41h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Mw5cIozjqlaKIdJoE7P3Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 10:43:22 PM
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
The goal in Regions 8, 10, and 11 (and a lot of 1) is to keep traffic moving. Pulling someone over slows traffic, especially with the move over law that effectively closes a lane whenever someone is pulled over. At least in the 80s, they only looked for unsafe drivers during peak periods (drunks, driving excessively slow, weaving, driving significantly faster than all other traffic) on LI, basically the stuff that is highly likely to create serious accidents. They save the speed stuff for midday and nights (and they get plenty by hiding behind parkway bridges).
Northway traffic slows way down for so much as sprinkling.
Quote from: vdeane on November 22, 2015, 01:29:36 PM
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 10:43:22 PM
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
The goal in Regions 8, 10, and 11 (and a lot of 1) is to keep traffic moving. Pulling someone over slows traffic, especially with the move over law that effectively closes a lane whenever someone is pulled over. At least in the 80s, they only looked for unsafe drivers during peak periods (drunks, driving excessively slow, weaving, driving significantly faster than all other traffic) on LI, basically the stuff that is highly likely to create serious accidents. They save the speed stuff for midday and nights (and they get plenty by hiding behind parkway bridges).
Northway traffic slows way down for so much as sprinkling.
That's recent
Florida used to have them on I-4 in FDOT D5, but they eliminated them.
FDOT D7 did for I-75 as well, as I see the former signs, as they were two panels on many, had their bottom panel taken out for just the basic speed limit sign.
Also Florida's Turnpike did as well. It is just 70 mph and no minimum on all of its Central Florida signs.
Quote from: vdeane on November 22, 2015, 01:29:36 PM
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 10:43:22 PM
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
The goal in Regions 8, 10, and 11 (and a lot of 1) is to keep traffic moving. Pulling someone over slows traffic, especially with the move over law that effectively closes a lane whenever someone is pulled over. At least in the 80s, they only looked for unsafe drivers during peak periods (drunks, driving excessively slow, weaving, driving significantly faster than all other traffic) on LI, basically the stuff that is highly likely to create serious accidents. They save the speed stuff for midday and nights (and they get plenty by hiding behind parkway bridges).
Northway traffic slows way down for so much as sprinkling.
Heh. Someone could fart in Pretoria and DC drivers would slow down out of concern that the smell indicated a local traffic problem.
Returning to the original topic, I am certain I recall Maryland having signs saying "SPEED LIMIT 50/MINIMUM 40" on various roads in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I have it in mind that the Harbor Tunnel Thruway (which was not yet I-895) is the one I remember the most, though I could not tell you whether that memory is valid or is shrouded in the cobwebs of 35 years of other travel.
Quote from: cl94 on November 22, 2015, 02:28:47 PM
Quote from: vdeane on November 22, 2015, 01:29:36 PM
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 10:43:22 PM
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
The goal in Regions 8, 10, and 11 (and a lot of 1) is to keep traffic moving. Pulling someone over slows traffic, especially with the move over law that effectively closes a lane whenever someone is pulled over. At least in the 80s, they only looked for unsafe drivers during peak periods (drunks, driving excessively slow, weaving, driving significantly faster than all other traffic) on LI, basically the stuff that is highly likely to create serious accidents. They save the speed stuff for midday and nights (and they get plenty by hiding behind parkway bridges).
Northway traffic slows way down for so much as sprinkling.
That's recent freakin' annoying
FTFY. It's ridiculous around here when any amount of water drops from the sky. What's especially frustrating is that you see people driving who can't see out their windows -- appears to be the failure of our state inspection system. :D
I don't recall seeing a minimum speed sign in NJ, but I remember being told to treat speed limits as minimum speed signs (obviously when they're > 50 or so) because you might actually be pulled over for going under the speed limit for no legitimate reason, especially if there is traffic on the road trying to go faster.
Quote from: bzakharin on November 23, 2015, 12:45:54 PM
I don't recall seeing a minimum speed sign in NJ, but I remember being told to treat speed limits as minimum speed signs (obviously when they're > 50 or so) because you might actually be pulled over for going under the speed limit for no legitimate reason, especially if there is traffic on the road trying to go faster.
I've never heard of that, and unlike what many people think, there are always people going under the speed limit. As long as they're in the right lane, it's usually never a problem.
Now, going under the speed limit in the left lane...that's going to get you noticed, but that's generally also a violation of the Keep Right Except To Pass law.
I hate minimum speed limit signs... Thankfully NJ/NY doesn't have them.
South Dakota has them on Interstates (40 mph) (although I doubt anyone ever goes close to the minimum on the Interstate...).
Offset from a sine salad post, a speed limit 35, minimum speed 25 in a tunnel in Mobile, AL: https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6930622,-88.030653,3a,75y,265.46h,82.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWbD7_KWvpLbwbA9x0k5zWQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Quote from: Revive 755 on November 20, 2015, 10:25:05 PM
Missouri used to post a minimum of 40.
I believe that they still do, to a certain extent.
Quote from: NJ on November 25, 2015, 11:42:16 AM
I hate minimum speed limit signs... Thankfully NJ/NY doesn't have them.
New York does in a couple locations
The only two minimum speed signs I have seen in PA are on the WB Turnpike near the Allegheny Tunnel and on I-95 north of Philadelphia (both have 40 MPH minimums). Otherwise, there are sometimes signs that say "Use Flashers Below XX MPH", where XX is 15 MPH below the speed limit.
Quote from: cl94 on November 20, 2015, 10:43:22 PM
People don't slow down that much for bad weather. Not in most of New York, at least. Only place in the state I've really seen that is Buffalo. New York also has a law on the books where they can pull you over for going a speed that is unsafe due to conditions.
Florida has that law (and I'd wager a lot of other states do), and yours truly received that as a violation after he crashed while aquaplaning at 55 in the rain through a posted 55 zone.
Quote from: Big John on January 02, 2016, 11:34:51 AM
Offset from a sine salad post, a speed limit 35, minimum speed 25 in a tunnel in Mobile, AL: https://www.google.com/maps/@30.6930622,-88.030653,3a,75y,265.46h,82.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWbD7_KWvpLbwbA9x0k5zWQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
I wonder if that's the lowest posted minimum speed limit in the US?
Only place I've ever seen a minimum speed posted in Kentucky is on the freeway portion of KY 4 (New Circle Road) in Lexington. The speed limit is 55 and the posted minimum is 40.
And sounds like in Okieland, you're screwed if you do and you're screwed if you don't. It it's slick and you are driving faster than the minimum, then you're driving too fast for conditions and could probably be cited for that.
Quote from: MASTERNC on January 02, 2016, 08:34:23 PM
The only two minimum speed signs I have seen in PA are on the WB Turnpike near the Allegheny Tunnel and on I-95 north of Philadelphia (both have 40 MPH minimums). Otherwise, there are sometimes signs that say "Use Flashers Below XX MPH", where XX is 15 MPH below the speed limit.
I think the signs in the mtns of PA are mainly for heavy 18 wheelers climbing hills slowly. I think they may have been posted for I 80 also, I havent been up that way in awhile so I dont merember.
Apologise for bumping a 4 almost 5 year old thread... but I just had to post here after a recent drive in Rhode Island.
The highest minimum speed limit I've seen is 55 MPH on Interstate 95 in Rhode Island between Exit 2 (MM4.5) and Exit 6 (MM17.9—
18.4). Thought it was bizarre at first... seems to be posted mostly on the SB side and speed limit signage on that stretch isn't very consistent... one stretch has a minimum limit and the next just the speed limit.
Northbound: 1 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4883185,-71.7274649,3a,18.7y,68.71h,90.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slwKb0RrjZALZ6VuxKFBHEQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
Southbound: 1 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4810004,-71.7430169,3a,22.9y,267.36h,88.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sO-A7Nk67dPl1DZ2VJTJOBg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), 2 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5063312,-71.6992525,3a,28.6y,256.82h,86.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHUsmqe9KgK2HvCx7f_lFUg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), 3 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5307715,-71.6820923,3a,22.7y,207.79h,84.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sS6ksuWh0xjGUcsK1IlxvtA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192), 4 (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6500411,-71.6118909,3a,21.2y,250.91h,90.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2LWvFAZt9JM7S0vxoSsE2w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192)
As for Maine, only the Maine Turnpike Authority posts a 45 minimum speed limit on Interstate 95 between MM2.2 and MM109, 70/45 (formerly 65/45) except for a stretch between Exit 44 and 53 where it is 60/45 (formerly 55/45). Other MTA highways and MaineDOT maintained roads only post the speed limit.
NHDOT typically posts a minimum speed limit of 45 MPH when the speed limit is 65 (70 MPH for I-93 north of Exit 18/~MM45.4). Minimum speed limits are rare in 55 MPH zones. The only static stretch is I-293 between I-93 and Exit 1 in Manchester with a 45 minimum speed limit. Just recently, a rare 40 MPH minimum speed limit with a 55 MPH speed limit was posted on the Spaulding Turnpike between Exit 4 and 6 in the northbound direction only.
IMHO, 55 to 65 is an awfully narrow range to expect all vehicles to maintain.
BC signs 'em too. (https://goo.gl/maps/9ZyZn914d9iqjS1v6) The wording is "Vehicles incapable 60 km/h ... prohibited," so that accounts for having to go slower in heavy traffic.
Quote from: SD Mapman on November 25, 2015, 11:52:35 AM
South Dakota has them on Interstates (40 mph) (although I doubt anyone ever goes close to the minimum on the Interstate...).
I've seen them on rural segments of I-29, where the minimum limit is 40mph and the maximum is 80mph. Still allows a high speed differential, but my guess is that the 40mph minimum (and similar minimums in neighboring states with lower maximums) is mainly to help keep farm equipment off the Interstates.
I know that the Indiana Toll Road has a "minimum speed limit" of 45 mph on signs east of Portage.
Example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6702337,-86.7212735,3a,75y,74.48h,79.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6a1zMZQ6-cpdQTm9tlsO_g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on January 07, 2021, 01:48:22 AM
I know that the Indiana Toll Road has a "minimum speed limit" of 45 mph on signs east of Portage.
Example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6702337,-86.7212735,3a,75y,74.48h,79.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6a1zMZQ6-cpdQTm9tlsO_g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
The "MINIMUM 40 when conditions permit" was common in Oregon in the 1970s. I don't recall seeing these signs when I was las therein 2014".
The CVC recognizes the legality of minimum speed limits, but I not sure that I have ever really seen one in California.
In the last six months or so, Oklahoma's minimum speed limit signs on free roads were mysteriously removed and replaced with "NO TOLERANCE" banners, placed under the maximum speed limit signs. Good to know we don't tolerate anyone doing the speed limit, I guess. Minimum speeds are still posted on turnpikes, as far as I've seen. At least the 80 MPH ones.
Also, the stuff Baloo was posting upthread about minimum speed enforcement in poor conditions is fictitious. Whenever OKC gets ice storms, it is understood that the minimum speed does not (did not?) apply in such conditions.
From what I know of, Ohio currently doesn't post minimum speeds. When I moved to the state, they had speed limit signs with the speed limit on the top half, and something whited-out on the bottom half (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3017631,-84.3045873,3a,49.1y,64.93h,84.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si9OZtc2h1eyI5uGpZ1YXUw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). I had no clue what is under there, but my guess is that it's the minimum speed. The state eventually replaced all of them with the standard speed limit sign.
In Missouri, specifically the St. Louis area, all the freeways I've been on have a minimum speed of 40. Not sure if the state is still posting that or not.
On some freeways in China, there's a minimum speed for each lane. Normally, the right lane has the lowest minimum, the center lane(s) has one slightly higher than the right lane, and the left lane has the most restrictive minimum, along with a raised maximum. It's signed with a blue circle. Example (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_China#/media/File:Gantry_signs_along_G6_Badaling_expressway_in_Beijing.jpg)
Quote from: SkyPesos on January 07, 2021, 03:24:00 PM
From what I know of, Ohio currently doesn't post minimum speeds. When I moved to the state, they had speed limit signs with the speed limit on the top half, and something whited-out on the bottom half (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3017631,-84.3045873,3a,49.1y,64.93h,84.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si9OZtc2h1eyI5uGpZ1YXUw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). I had no clue what is under there, but my guess is that it's the minimum speed. The state eventually replaced all of them with the standard speed limit sign.
In Missouri, specifically the St. Louis area, all the freeways I've been on have a minimum speed of 40. Not sure if the state is still posting that or not.
On some freeways in China, there's a minimum speed for each lane. Normally, the right lane has the lowest minimum, the center lane(s) has one slightly higher than the right lane, and the left lane has the most restrictive minimum, along with a raised maximum. It's signed with a blue circle. Example (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_China#/media/File:Gantry_signs_along_G6_Badaling_expressway_in_Beijing.jpg)
That link doesn't work, but I recall that the first time I travelled through Ohio on a family trip to Michigan and Ontario in 1987, Ohio's speed limit signs were a larger rectangular shape with a 65-mph speed limit for cars and a lower speed limit for some other vehicles identified in a load of small print. Maybe that's what's whited-out on the sign you mention? Split speed limits for trucks, and sometimes buses, weren't all that unusual around that time period as some state legislatures were panicky about allowing 65-mph speed limits. For example, I recall starting in 1988 Virginia allowed 65 for cars and 55 for trucks and buses, then changed the latter just to trucks, then later removed it altogether.
Edited to add: I found this example via a Google search.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cb/a7/6c/cba76c701e199e9c6f4852c622a490a6.jpg)
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 07, 2021, 03:29:02 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on January 07, 2021, 03:24:00 PM
From what I know of, Ohio currently doesn't post minimum speeds. When I moved to the state, they had speed limit signs with the speed limit on the top half, and something whited-out on the bottom half (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3017631,-84.3045873,3a,49.1y,64.93h,84.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si9OZtc2h1eyI5uGpZ1YXUw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). I had no clue what is under there, but my guess is that it's the minimum speed. The state eventually replaced all of them with the standard speed limit sign.
In Missouri, specifically the St. Louis area, all the freeways I've been on have a minimum speed of 40. Not sure if the state is still posting that or not.
On some freeways in China, there's a minimum speed for each lane. Normally, the right lane has the lowest minimum, the center lane(s) has one slightly higher than the right lane, and the left lane has the most restrictive minimum, along with a raised maximum. It's signed with a blue circle. Example (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_China#/media/File:Gantry_signs_along_G6_Badaling_expressway_in_Beijing.jpg)
That link doesn't work, but I recall that the first time I travelled through Ohio on a family trip to Michigan and Ontario in 1987, Ohio's speed limit signs were a larger rectangular shape with a 65-mph speed limit for cars and a lower speed limit for some other vehicles identified in a load of small print. Maybe that's what's whited-out on the sign you mention? Split speed limits for trucks, and sometimes buses, weren't all that unusual around that time period as some state legislatures were panicky about allowing 65-mph speed limits. For example, I recall starting in 1988 Virginia allowed 65 for cars and 55 for trucks and buses, then changed the latter just to trucks, then later removed it altogether.
Edited to add: I found this example via a Google search.
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cb/a7/6c/cba76c701e199e9c6f4852c622a490a6.jpg)
That is most likely a split limit sign with truck limit covered; most have been changed out but some remain still. This is what they used to look like in the conventional form:
https://goo.gl/maps/rkcBoN2XwiV5tJee9
There was also the "menu" format Big White Sign as pictured above and sometimes they would use two separate signs, one regular and one right next to it with the truck limit.
Minimum signs are seen in Ohio, often unattended by a maximum limit sign.
Cleveland: https://goo.gl/maps/4XaKtwJSBp1NyFA2A
Akron: https://goo.gl/maps/CNoitkijzvRhJfct9
Combo max/min signs used to be seen in CLE, but seem to have disappeared a while ago.
https://goo.gl/maps/amXdcmev3sysvgZP8
https://goo.gl/maps/wYRbYHgBM77MsqPy6
Otherwise, a tall sign with SPEED LIMIT on top like the one whited out was almost always the split car/truck limit sign.
The Ohio Turnpike got the OK to remove the split car/truck limit first, as truckers were shunpiking on parallel roads because they were limited to lower speeds on the Turnpike that could be matched on the other roads. ODOT and other roads were OKd later.
Edit: Older street view of the Loveland sign (not the easiest to get) shows that it was indeed a split 65/55 sign.
https://goo.gl/maps/31t9uentQ5mvCsdx8
This sign on I-90 is a good example of a sign with the split truck limit (2013) then covered up (2014).
https://goo.gl/maps/csFvujRoXRQp2wQb6
Quote from: corco on November 20, 2015, 12:09:02 AM
Utah uses them, but sometimes with a "when conditions permit" banner
Is this the case anymore? The only one I knew of was on I-15 in northern Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/CtDotEg4TMEfDe6L8) (with a "when conditions reset" banner), and it was removed when that portion was reconstructed in 2009. I can't think of any others off the top of my head.
Apparently signage for the 45 mph interstate minimum speed was far more common in the early days of the freeway system.
Quote from: US 89 on January 07, 2021, 08:50:58 PM
Quote from: corco on November 20, 2015, 12:09:02 AM
Utah uses them, but sometimes with a "when conditions permit" banner
Is this the case anymore? The only one I knew of was on I-15 in northern Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/CtDotEg4TMEfDe6L8) (with a "when conditions reset" banner), and it was removed when that portion was reconstructed in 2009. I can't think of any others off the top of my head.
Apparently signage for the 45 mph interstate minimum speed was far more common in the early days of the freeway system.
My guess is not, or at least not on I-15. I never visited Utah until 2015, and I've now been a few times, including the full length of I-15 in the state. I don't think I've ever seen any minimum speed limit signed.
Quote from: oscar on January 07, 2021, 12:01:32 AM
my guess is that the 40mph minimum (and similar minimums in neighboring states with lower maximums) is mainly to help keep farm equipment off the Interstates.
Also, don't use this highway if half your cylinders aren't firing.
Quote from: US 89 on January 07, 2021, 08:50:58 PM
Quote from: corco on November 20, 2015, 12:09:02 AM
Utah uses them, but sometimes with a "when conditions permit" banner
Is this the case anymore? The only one I knew of was on I-15 in northern Salt Lake City (https://goo.gl/maps/CtDotEg4TMEfDe6L8) (with a "when conditions reset" banner), and it was removed when that portion was reconstructed in 2009. I can't think of any others off the top of my head.
Apparently signage for the 45 mph interstate minimum speed was far more common in the early days of the freeway system.
They were everywhere on Utah freeways - back in the 1980s.
Florida depends on the FDOT district. D5 removed the 40 mph minimum as well as FTE for Florida's Turnpike. D7 also removed most of them. D1 and D3 uses them still. Districts 2, 4, and 6 do not know.
Florida had them all over before the mid 90's though.
TX-49 near Tyler, TX, an undivided 2-3 lane (alternating passing lane) toll road, has a minimum speed limit of 65 mph. The maximum speed limit is 75 mph.
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2549529,-95.4006534,3a,47.9y,329.11h,81.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZHbiVSvZWKYdMnwUFYhwxw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1
Quote from: sprjus4 on January 19, 2021, 08:53:32 PM
TX-49 near Tyler, TX, an undivided 2-3 lane (alternating passing lane) toll road, has a minimum speed limit of 65 mph. The maximum speed limit is 75 mph.
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.2549529,-95.4006534,3a,47.9y,329.11h,81.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZHbiVSvZWKYdMnwUFYhwxw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1
Wow, only in Texas. But a 65 minimum is totally ridiculous.
Quote from: NoGoodNamesAvailable on January 20, 2021, 02:29:54 AM
Wow, only in Texas. But a 65 minimum is totally ridiculous.
In abstract....if minimum speed limits exist to promote safety and traffic flow by reducing the disruption caused by speed differentials, then on a highway with a 75mph speed limit, wouldn't it make more sense to have a minimum speed that is only 10mph lower, rather than a minimum speed that is 30mph lower?
Back in the days of the mandatory 55mph speed limits, signing freeway as "Speed limit 55 / minimum 45" (which I remember being common in the states I most frequently was in growing up) made a certain amount of sense to me. If you couldn't come close to highway speed, you needed to stay off the highway for safety, and 10mph seemed like a not unreasonable difference. But in states that used to frequently post 45mph minimums...those minimums were mostly retained when 55 became 65 or more.
If you're going to tolerate traffic going 60% of the posted maximum speed, then it makes sense to me to quit bothering to have a posted minimum, especially given questions raised about conditions that require lower speeds. But if you are trying to reduce speed differentials for safety and traffic flow, then a minimum of 65 on a 75mph highway makes sense.
Quote from: kphoger on January 13, 2021, 12:07:29 PM
Quote from: oscar on January 07, 2021, 12:01:32 AM
my guess is that the 40mph minimum (and similar minimums in neighboring states with lower maximums) is mainly to help keep farm equipment off the Interstates.
Also, don't use this highway if half your cylinders aren't firing.
That's a standard highway-speed feature for Honda's V6 engines.
Quote from: SectorZ on January 20, 2021, 09:16:10 AM
Quote from: kphoger on January 13, 2021, 12:07:29 PM
Quote from: oscar on January 07, 2021, 12:01:32 AM
my guess is that the 40mph minimum (and similar minimums in neighboring states with lower maximums) is mainly to help keep farm equipment off the Interstates.
Also, don't use this highway if half your cylinders aren't firing.
That's a standard highway-speed feature for Honda's V6 engines.
Nor is it a problem, either.
Hmm. Well.
I just remember when one bank of my old 2004 V6 Grand Caravan's coil stopped receiving information from the PCM to fire its two cylinders. Running on just four out of six for a couple of weeks, I didn't feel comfortable going much over 50 mph. Drove on the Canal Route here with my flashers on quite a bit.
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on January 20, 2021, 09:11:02 AM
Quote from: NoGoodNamesAvailable on January 20, 2021, 02:29:54 AM
Wow, only in Texas. But a 65 minimum is totally ridiculous.
In abstract....if minimum speed limits exist to promote safety and traffic flow by reducing the disruption caused by speed differentials, then on a highway with a 75mph speed limit, wouldn't it make more sense to have a minimum speed that is only 10mph lower, rather than a minimum speed that is 30mph lower?
Back in the days of the mandatory 55mph speed limits, signing freeway as "Speed limit 55 / minimum 45" (which I remember being common in the states I most frequently was in growing up) made a certain amount of sense to me. If you couldn't come close to highway speed, you needed to stay off the highway for safety, and 10mph seemed like a not unreasonable difference. But in states that used to frequently post 45mph minimums...those minimums were mostly retained when 55 became 65 or more.
If you're going to tolerate traffic going 60% of the posted maximum speed, then it makes sense to me to quit bothering to have a posted minimum, especially given questions raised about conditions that require lower speeds. But if you are trying to reduce speed differentials for safety and traffic flow, then a minimum of 65 on a 75mph highway makes sense.
Yeah, I always wonder what happens with minimum speed limits in congestion or bad weather. Does that mean everyone is breaking the law in those instances?
I figure out that minimum speed limits are made to keep vehicles into a "speed bracket", in order to avoid a too big difference between slower and faster vehicles. Because the real danger is not the speed itself (some vehicles are safe over 100 MPH!), but the speed difference between vehicles.
By experience, I generally see a difference of 25 MPH (40 km/h) in many states that show minimum speed limits. As a truck driver, when I have to climb hills, I put 4-way flashers when I have to go under the minimum speed, and if no minimum speed shown, at about 25 MPH under the maximum speed limit.
Quote from: Richard3 on January 21, 2021, 10:09:02 AM
the real danger is not the speed itself (some vehicles are safe over 100 MPH!), but the speed difference between vehicles.
The vehicle may be safe over 100 mph, but that doesn't mean the driver is.
Quote from: vdeane on January 20, 2021, 12:48:18 PM
Yeah, I always wonder what happens with minimum speed limits in congestion or bad weather. Does that mean everyone is breaking the law in those instances?
It's possible that it does, technically. But only a pinhead police chief would order their troopers to issue tickets in that instance.
More likely is that the law is structured so that the "too fast for conditions" clauses override the minimum speed clauses. If "too fast for conditions" is 35 MPH, and the minimum is 45, then the minimum gets ignored.
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 21, 2021, 01:01:22 PM
Quote from: vdeane on January 20, 2021, 12:48:18 PM
Yeah, I always wonder what happens with minimum speed limits in congestion or bad weather. Does that mean everyone is breaking the law in those instances?
It's possible that it does, technically. But only a pinhead police chief would order their troopers to issue tickets in that instance.
More likely is that the law is structured so that the "too fast for conditions" clauses override the minimum speed clauses. If "too fast for conditions" is 35 MPH, and the minimum is 45, then the minimum gets ignored.
Indeed. Pertinent phrase highlighted in bold.
Quote from: Uniform Vehicle Code, Millennium Edition
Chapter 11 – Rules of the Road
ARTICLE VIII – Speed Restrictions
§ 11-805 – Minimum speed regulation
(b) Whenever the (State highway commission) or local authorities within their respective jurisdictions determine on the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation that slow speeds on any highway or part of a highway impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the (commission) or such local authority may establish a minimum speed limit below which no person shall drive a vehicle except when necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, and that limit shall be effective when posted upon appropriate fixed or variable signs.
Most states have similar verbiage.
That wording seems to imply that if I'm driving 65, and something suddenly happens to my car that makes it impossible or dangerous to go above 30, I can go 30 and take the next exit. Is this correct?
Quote from: 1 on January 21, 2021, 01:10:05 PM
That wording seems to imply that if I'm driving 65, and something suddenly happens to my car that makes it impossible or dangerous to go above 30, I can go 30 and take the next exit. Is this correct?
How is that different than a state that doesn't post minimum speed limits at all?
Before I-95 near the I-195 area was reconfigured with the Iway project, the speed limit thru a portion of Downtown Providence on I-95 South was 50 with a minimum of 40 (look at 2:28, at the right):