Best speed limits in states you've driven in

[sprjus4]

I'm guessing that sometime within the next 10-15 years they might raise some of those limits since the environmental rules aren't in effect anymore.

Hopefully, though I-10 out to Winnie was recently lowered from 75 mph to 65 mph a few years ago, for no actual good reason besides "safety" despite the fact everybody still drives 75 - 85 mph through there without any problems.

At least Dallas has mostly upped to 70 mph in the past decade.

[tolbs17]

Idaho is fine but they really stretch the definition of "urban"  when setting interstate speed limits, which are capped at 65 in those areas. I-15 does not need to drop all the way from 80 to 65 through Pocatello.

Oh, man... PA does the same thing, except their urban speed limit is only 55 mph. The 55 mph zone on I-90 through Erie is truly painful. Traffic normally does 65-70 and it still feels like you're crawling. Here is an example of what it's like.

Don't forget PA's 55 mph zones for substandard rural freeways, examples being much of free I-70 and I-78 between Lenhartsville and Fogelsville (the Berks County portion currently being reconstructed and the Lehigh County part planned). This is inconsistent though as much of I-83 meets the same standards but is signed at 65 mph, and the PA Turnpike NE Extension is at 70 mph with practically no inside shoulder. In all cases cars are usually doing 70-80 mph with trucks 65-70 mph, regardless of the posted limits or standards of construction.

That 55 section from the Maryland line to the Turnpike is downright painful.

The Balt-Wash parkway? Is that what you're talking about? Cause that entire stretch is a 4-lane freeway with curbs and gutters and is 55mph.

[sprjus4]

Idaho is fine but they really stretch the definition of "urban"  when setting interstate speed limits, which are capped at 65 in those areas. I-15 does not need to drop all the way from 80 to 65 through Pocatello.

Oh, man... PA does the same thing, except their urban speed limit is only 55 mph. The 55 mph zone on I-90 through Erie is truly painful. Traffic normally does 65-70 and it still feels like you're crawling. Here is an example of what it's like.

Don't forget PA's 55 mph zones for substandard rural freeways, examples being much of free I-70 and I-78 between Lenhartsville and Fogelsville (the Berks County portion currently being reconstructed and the Lehigh County part planned). This is inconsistent though as much of I-83 meets the same standards but is signed at 65 mph, and the PA Turnpike NE Extension is at 70 mph with practically no inside shoulder. In all cases cars are usually doing 70-80 mph with trucks 65-70 mph, regardless of the posted limits or standards of construction.

That 55 section from the Maryland line to the Turnpike is downright painful.

The Balt-Wash parkway? Is that what you're talking about? Cause that entire stretch is a 4-lane freeway with curbs and gutters and is 55mph.

I-70 in Pennsylvania between the Maryland state line and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Rural interstate highway with a 55 mph speed limit for over 20 miles that is universally ignored. That segment should at least be 65 mph. The speed limit immediately increases from 55 mph to 70 mph upon entering Maryland.

[deathtopumpkins]

I haven't checked out any 70 mph two-lanes in Oklahoma since they raised the limit on them. In general I feel like 65 is probably better for two-lane roads, especially around here.

I hadn't realized Oklahoma raised any two-lanes to 70! Do you know which ones and when this happened? I've been trying to track states' maximum speed limits by road type and wasn't aware of any above 65 in OK.

[US 89]

In general I feel like 65 is probably better for two-lane roads, especially around here.

The difference, though, is that Oklahoma has a lot more small towns out in the middle of nowhere than most western states - and even then, the remaining rural parts of the state still have plenty of farming and ranching activity to generate some level of traffic.

A lot of rural highways in inland western states, by contrast, go through very desolate terrain and you might go over 50 miles without seeing a town. Hell, you might not even pass another car on some of them. On roads like that, 70 is absolutely reasonable, and it's quite annoying to see your limit drop from 70 to 65 just because you crossed an arbitrary line with no change in road geometry.

[Ketchup99]

Idaho is fine but they really stretch the definition of "urban"  when setting interstate speed limits, which are capped at 65 in those areas. I-15 does not need to drop all the way from 80 to 65 through Pocatello.

Oh, man... PA does the same thing, except their urban speed limit is only 55 mph. The 55 mph zone on I-90 through Erie is truly painful. Traffic normally does 65-70 and it still feels like you're crawling. Here is an example of what it's like.

Don't forget PA's 55 mph zones for substandard rural freeways, examples being much of free I-70 and I-78 between Lenhartsville and Fogelsville (the Berks County portion currently being reconstructed and the Lehigh County part planned). This is inconsistent though as much of I-83 meets the same standards but is signed at 65 mph, and the PA Turnpike NE Extension is at 70 mph with practically no inside shoulder. In all cases cars are usually doing 70-80 mph with trucks 65-70 mph, regardless of the posted limits or standards of construction.

That 55 section from the Maryland line to the Turnpike is downright painful.

Yes, that 55 zone is awful.  PA's urban speed limits are just generally awful.  And the "55 next 36 miles"  coming into Wilkes-Barre on I-81 North over Warrior Gap is just straight demoralizing.  I'm good with a 55 zone in a city but PennDOT seemingly loves signing anything within 10 miles of a city as 55. 

I was talking with some friends the other day about how reluctant PennDOT seems to be to post short 65 zones, but found a counter-example in US 222's Kutztown Bypass being signed as 65. 

I look to our neighboring states WV and OH that allow 65 on divided highways like US 48.  I'm not sure PA has a 4-lane divided highway that is not already limited access up to the spec of US 48 though. 

PA, How many times can we see a 55-45 drop coming in from NY State on a 2 Lane Road.  Just seems like our backroads are, in general, slow.

I do love the new-ish 70 zones though.  The turnpike, I-380, I-99, I-80, and US 15 are all great now.

One thing I wish Pennsylvania would do is raise the maximum to 65, regardless of road type. There are a bunch of divided roads which could and should be 65 - or at least 60 - and although we don't have a ton, there are plenty of back roads in the middle of nowhere on which 60 or, in some cases, 65 would be a reasonable speed limit.

PA does have a few divided highways like US-48 - US-22 from Altoona to Pittsburgh (although admittedly it's a little lower in quality) and US119: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.081048,-79.5616142,3a,75y,204.22h,90.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0ZJF_laHLcg6gZQ0SLmm3w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D0ZJF_laHLcg6gZQ0SLmm3w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D226.99216%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

The 70 zones... maybe it's a function of my never having driven before they were installed, but they still feel slow. I wish they would be upped to 75 or 80, which would be more appropriate on some of these highways like I-80.

[kphoger]

I haven't checked out any 70 mph two-lanes in Oklahoma since they raised the limit on them. In general I feel like 65 is probably better for two-lane roads, especially around here.

I hadn't realized Oklahoma raised any two-lanes to 70! Do you know which ones and when this happened? I've been trying to track states' maximum speed limits by road type and wasn't aware of any above 65 in OK.

It caught me by surprise too, as I didn't realize they existed until I was on one.

In general I feel like 65 is probably better for two-lane roads, especially around here.

The difference, though, is that Oklahoma has a lot more small towns out in the middle of nowhere than most western states - and even then, the remaining rural parts of the state still have plenty of farming and ranching activity to generate some level of traffic.

A lot of rural highways in inland western states, by contrast, go through very desolate terrain and you might go over 50 miles without seeing a town. Hell, you might not even pass another car on some of them. On roads like that, 70 is absolutely reasonable, and it's quite annoying to see your limit drop from 70 to 65 just because you crossed an arbitrary line with no change in road geometry.

For me, it was that the Oklahoma highway didn't seem to have been constructed or surfaced as well as Texas highways.  It wasn't as flat and smooth–even with relatively new pavement–as what I'm used to in Texas.  Basically, 70 on that highway felt like 70 on some county road in some other state.

[roadman65]

I always thought Texas was great at not discriminating against types of roads with their first all 70 mph max ( and 60 for trucks), and now with the 75 mph ( as 80 seems to be for a couple freeways out in West Texas) it is still good at distribution.

Then having 70 on the SA Freeways away from Downtown as well as US 75 in Dallas posted at 70 even in urban areas is great as people generally drive faster anyway in urban areas.

[deathtopumpkins]

I haven't checked out any 70 mph two-lanes in Oklahoma since they raised the limit on them. In general I feel like 65 is probably better for two-lane roads, especially around here.

I hadn't realized Oklahoma raised any two-lanes to 70! Do you know which ones and when this happened? I've been trying to track states' maximum speed limits by road type and wasn't aware of any above 65 in OK.

It caught me by surprise too, as I didn't realize they existed until I was on one.

Took me a little while to find anything, as every news article that comes up searching is inevitably about the turnpikes going up to 80, but I did find this: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OKDOT/bulletins/10e2885

Looks like US 412 went up to 70 between Boise City and Woodward. And sure enough: https://goo.gl/maps/x7THgTRyMsdiW5qd8

[kphoger]

Looks like US 412 went up to 70 between Boise City and Woodward. And sure enough: https://goo.gl/maps/x7THgTRyMsdiW5qd8

I was on US-412 between Beaver County NS-151 and OK-46, so maybe that was it.  GSV along there is mostly from 2014, so I couldn't confirm.  However, now I see this, so that was definitely the highway I'm remembering.

I guess I just don't see how this is just fine at 70 mph but this is 'faintly ridiculous' at 75 mph.

[doorknob60]

I would say Idaho and Utah are tied for me. I give Utah points for the 70 MPH urban speed limits, and the lack of a split truck speed, but take away points for the 65 MPH non-interstate maximum (that's technically behind Oregon). Idaho now has 70 MPH on non interstates, including some 2 laners. One complaint I have about Idaho is they are quick to lower the speed limit on mountainous highways instead of using advisory speeds, but in practice it doesn't matter that much. I don't have enough experience in Utah to know if they do the same, or to the same extent.

Montana might be ahead of both of those,  except for their 35 MPH work zone speed limits on interstates. I thought I misread the sign the first time I saw that! There was nothing out of the ordinary of these work zones, and most of the ones I drove through didn't have work actively happening. In Idaho they literally would have made the speed limit 70, double what MT used. Oregon would have been 45-55 most likely, and even that's annoyingly slow. I took the 35 as an advisory speed, and actually drove closer to 60-65, because 35 would get you rear ended on the interstate. If you look past that they might be the best.

Nevada is close too. If they were a little more generous with the 80 zones (like on I-15) they might actually be able to take the top for me. Texas might be a contender, but I've never been there.

Really though, most of the Mountain West states (ID, MT, UT, NV, WY, and others) are all really close, and all mostly reasonable in terms of speed limits. It's nice living here, as opposed to growing up in Bend, OR surrounded by nothing but 55 at the time.

[US 89]

One complaint I have about Idaho is they are quick to lower the speed limit on mountainous highways instead of using advisory speeds, but in practice it doesn't matter that much. I don't have enough experience in Utah to know if they do the same, or to the same extent.

I don't have enough experience on Idaho mountain roads to know what to compare Utah to, but I've always figured Utah's mountain speed limits are pretty reasonable. They won't lower limits for one or two curves, but if a particularly windy section lasts for at least a mile or so there will probably be a limit drop associated with it. I feel like the few mountain highways I've been on in southeast Idaho were like that as well.

The only particularly bad mountain speed limit I can think of in Utah is US 6/50 through the Confusion Range west of the Sevier Lake bed: while that road probably can't support 65 mph, it's posted at 35 which I remember as feeling way too slow.

[thenetwork]

Idaho is fine but they really stretch the definition of "urban"  when setting interstate speed limits, which are capped at 65 in those areas. I-15 does not need to drop all the way from 80 to 65 through Pocatello.

Oh, man... PA does the same thing, except their urban speed limit is only 55 mph. The 55 mph zone on I-90 through Erie is truly painful. Traffic normally does 65-70 and it still feels like you're crawling. Here is an example of what it's like.

Don't forget PA's 55 mph zones for substandard rural freeways, examples being much of free I-70 and I-78 between Lenhartsville and Fogelsville (the Berks County portion currently being reconstructed and the Lehigh County part planned). This is inconsistent though as much of I-83 meets the same standards but is signed at 65 mph, and the PA Turnpike NE Extension is at 70 mph with practically no inside shoulder. In all cases cars are usually doing 70-80 mph with trucks 65-70 mph, regardless of the posted limits or standards of construction.

That 55 section from the Maryland line to the Turnpike is downright painful.

Yes, that 55 zone is awful.  PA's urban speed limits are just generally awful.  And the "55 next 36 miles"  coming into Wilkes-Barre on I-81 North over Warrior Gap is just straight demoralizing.  I'm good with a 55 zone in a city but PennDOT seemingly loves signing anything within 10 miles of a city as 55. 

I was talking with some friends the other day about how reluctant PennDOT seems to be to post short 65 zones, but found a counter-example in US 222's Kutztown Bypass being signed as 65. 

I look to our neighboring states WV and OH that allow 65 on divided highways like US 48.  I'm not sure PA has a 4-lane divided highway that is not already limited access up to the spec of US 48 though. 

PA, How many times can we see a 55-45 drop coming in from NY State on a 2 Lane Road.  Just seems like our backroads are, in general, slow.

I do love the new-ish 70 zones though.  The turnpike, I-380, I-99, I-80, and US 15 are all great now.

One thing I wish Pennsylvania would do is raise the maximum to 65, regardless of road type. There are a bunch of divided roads which could and should be 65 - or at least 60 - and although we don't have a ton, there are plenty of back roads in the middle of nowhere on which 60 or, in some cases, 65 would be a reasonable speed limit.

PA does have a few divided highways like US-48 - US-22 from Altoona to Pittsburgh (although admittedly it's a little lower in quality) and US119: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.081048,-79.5616142,3a,75y,204.22h,90.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0ZJF_laHLcg6gZQ0SLmm3w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D0ZJF_laHLcg6gZQ0SLmm3w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D226.99216%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

The 70 zones... maybe it's a function of my never having driven before they were installed, but they still feel slow. I wish they would be upped to 75 or 80, which would be more appropriate on some of these highways like I-80.

I wonder if Lake-effect snows happening about half the year is one of the reasons why I-90 thru PA remains 55 MPH on half of it.

One optimal solution is to install variable speed limit LED signs across all of I-90.  That would help PennDOT in keeping traffic traveling safer in the winter months while allowing for 65 MPH+ in the warmer months. 

Of course, logic is illogical on the roads of the Keystone State.

[vdeane]

I-70 in Pennsylvania between the Maryland state line and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Rural interstate highway with a 55 mph speed limit for over 20 miles that is universally ignored. That segment should at least be 65 mph. The speed limit immediately increases from 55 mph to 70 mph upon entering Maryland.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.  I have to use the cruise control to keep my speed down there.  The first time I drove it, the MD side had a work zone and was lowered to 60.  It's not every day the speed limit goes up upon entering a work zone.

[Ketchup99]

I think the logic is a couple of 50mph curves and substandard ramps. But a) a 50mph curve should not make it illegal to drive 65mph many miles away, and b) if Ohio can post divided roads with at-grades at 65, we can have RIRO roads at 65.

[doorknob60]

One complaint I have about Idaho is they are quick to lower the speed limit on mountainous highways instead of using advisory speeds, but in practice it doesn't matter that much. I don't have enough experience in Utah to know if they do the same, or to the same extent.

I don't have enough experience on Idaho mountain roads to know what to compare Utah to, but I've always figured Utah's mountain speed limits are pretty reasonable. They won't lower limits for one or two curves, but if a particularly windy section lasts for at least a mile or so there will probably be a limit drop associated with it. I feel like the few mountain highways I've been on in southeast Idaho were like that as well.

The only particularly bad mountain speed limit I can think of in Utah is US 6/50 through the Confusion Range west of the Sevier Lake bed: while that road probably can't support 65 mph, it's posted at 35 which I remember as feeling way too slow.

Sounds like the 2 states are probably pretty similar. Here's a fun example where US-93 drops from 70 to 45 at the ID/MT border. GSV Link. But there are almost immediately curves signed with 25 MPH advisory speeds, so it's not an unreasonable speed. Just a few miles later after those curves, it pops back up to 65.

ID-55 is an example I'm more familiar with, starting at Eagle, it's 55, 60, then drops in Horseshoe Bend, then 55, 45 for a while near Smiths Ferry, then it goes up to 65 once you're in the valley and it opens up. Where in a state like Oregon or Montana it would be the same speed pretty much the whole way it's weird to get used to, but all the speed limit drops are pretty reasonable and I don't go more than ~10 over in light traffic.

Idaho does use 35 for this too, but the only place I've seen it is ID-21 south of Lowman, where it's very justified as someone that's driven that stretch twice. I don't have a good GSV there (old imagery) but it's even curvier than it looks on a map. It does switch to 45 partway though.

I agree that US-50/US-6 stretch feels out of place at 35. The 50 it drops to leading up to that would be perfectly fine through the whole stretch. But the drop is over a short distance so like Idaho, it's not a huge problem in practice. That section of highways reminds me of US-20 east of Burns, OR, which is 65 the whole way despite some curvy sections.

[jeffandnicole]

I wonder if Lake-effect snows happening about half the year is one of the reasons why I-90 thru PA remains 55 MPH on half of it.

One optimal solution is to install variable speed limit LED signs across all of I-90.  That would help PennDOT in keeping traffic traveling safer in the winter months while allowing for 65 MPH+ in the warmer months. 

Of course, logic is illogical on the roads of the Keystone State.

Doubt it, for your last line you mentioned.  Also, it's possible for lake effect snows to happen during several months of the year, but the actual occurrence is limited to a large handful of days.

[ftballfan]

Florida has 60 mph speed limits on some rural two-lane highways, such as the southern part of FL 471 and parts of US-98

[capt.ron]

Best: Texas. Reason? 70 to 75 mph on 2 lane highways in remote areas.
Next best: Colorado.
In the middle: New Mexico. I like the 70 mph limit on US 87 once you cross into NM from Texas. What I don't like is you have to slow to a literal crawl once you go through those small / medium sized towns along US 87.
Worst: Arkansas and their point blank REFUSAL to raise the limit above 55 mph on rural sections of 2 lanes (excluding the "super 2" of AR 549 just west of the roundabout). 60 mph on their 5 lane highways that can clearly support 65 and even 70 in some sections.
Tennessee: 55 mph on freeways in / around Memphis. Nobody drives 55 on the freeways. Everybody at the bare minimum is going at least 8 mph over and lots of traffic are 10-15 mph over the 55 limit.
California: any vehicle towing a trailer is capped at 55 mph. 65 would make more sense (unless you're in hilly / mountainous terrain).

[hotdogPi]

California: any vehicle towing a trailer is capped at 55 mph. 65 would make more sense (unless you're in hilly / mountainous terrain).

From what I understand, California is good about not having unnecessary 20-30 zones.

[Ketchup99]

Honestly, this makes Texas first, all by itself. In PA, this would be 35, or perhaps 40 if we were lucky.

[kphoger]

Honestly, this makes Texas first, all by itself. In PA, this would be 35, or perhaps 40 if we were lucky.

I actually think roads like that should be lower.

[sprjus4]

Worst: Arkansas and their point blank REFUSAL to raise the limit above 55 mph on rural sections of 2 lanes (excluding the "super 2" of AR 549 just west of the roundabout). 60 mph on their 5 lane highways that can clearly support 65 and even 70 in some sections.

State law was updated this past summer which permits 2 lane roads to go to 60 mph and 5 lane highways to 65 mph. While the main priority was getting the interstates up to 75 mph, increases on arterial roads could be coming in the near future if they haven't already.

Tennessee: 55 mph on freeways in / around Memphis. Nobody drives 55 on the freeways. Everybody at the bare minimum is going at least 8 mph over and lots of traffic are 10-15 mph over the 55 limit.

The eastern part of the state is also bad, 55 mph maximum on any arterial roadway, even though virtually every divided highway could be 65 mph which is legally permitted by law. Interstates are a dice roll, a long stretch of I-81 south of Bristol along with the entirety of I-26 is restricted to 65 mph / 55 mph trucks for environmental and "safety" reasons despite both highways previously posted at 70 mph, and still should be today. Knoxville was also notorious with its long 55 mph stretches on I-40 / I-75 that were universally ignored, though TDOT finally increased all of those areas to 65 mph (except through Downtown Knoxville only went to 60 mph - which is perfectly reasonable given the roadway's geometry) back in 2019, along with a number of outskirt 65 mph / 55 mph trucks zones to 70 mph.

[thenetwork]

Best: Texas. Reason? 70 to 75 mph on 2 lane highways in remote areas.
Next best: Colorado.
In the middle: New Mexico. I like the 70 mph limit on US 87 once you cross into NM from Texas. What I don't like is you have to slow to a literal crawl once you go through those small / medium sized towns along US 87.
Worst: Arkansas and their point blank REFUSAL to raise the limit above 55 mph on rural sections of 2 lanes (excluding the "super 2" of AR 549 just west of the roundabout). 60 mph on their 5 lane highways that can clearly support 65 and even 70 in some sections.
Tennessee: 55 mph on freeways in / around Memphis. Nobody drives 55 on the freeways. Everybody at the bare minimum is going at least 8 mph over and lots of traffic are 10-15 mph over the 55 limit.
California: any vehicle towing a trailer is capped at 55 mph. 65 would make more sense (unless you're in hilly / mountainous terrain).

Many of the school zones in New Mexico have a 15 MPH speed limit, including on the numbered highways. 

ISTR a looonnng zone (over a mile) on US 64 between Shiprock and the AZ border.  Talk about an agonizing 5 minutes.  At least in a 25+ zone, you can  still set the cruise control.

[oscar]

Many of the school zones in New Mexico have a 15 MPH speed limit, including on the numbered highways.

ISTR a looonnng zone (over a mile) on US 64 between Shiprock and the AZ border.  Talk about an agonizing 5 minutes.  At least in a 25+ zone, you can still set the cruise control.

That stretch is within the Navajo Nation. Might be a tribal thing. Don't know about the others.