Current state speed limit increase proposals

[jeffandnicole]

I would caution about that bill in Vermont, and this article isn't as well written as you think.

That bill, sponsored by James McCollough, was first introduced in 2020 as bill H.627.  It went nowhere.

Bills have a tendency to be reintroduced each year after they were first written.  For many things, as long as an elected official remains in office, they tend to have their same bills reintroduced year after year, and most likely nothing will ever become of them. 

For the writer of the article, he probably did a quick search on speed limit bills in 2021, came up with what he got, and didn't research any further, which would reveal that some of these bills just tend to languish year after year.

I'm not going to really go thru each state mentioned, but unless it popped up this year already, chances are these are just old proposals that keep popping up without too much hope of succeeding.

I'm more interested in the NH bill that, if I'm reading it correctly, allows 60 mph on 2-lane roads. That's much more of a game-changer to me than the limit increasing another 5 mph on interstates!

Unless I'm mistaken currently the only states east of the Mississippi that allow higher than 55 on 2-lane roads are Florida (60) and Michigan (65).

In absolute technical terms, NJ allows it.  They only have statutory limits of 25, 35 & 50 mph when the roadway doesn't have a signed speed limit, and the "65 mph implementation act" which doesn't apply anymore.  There's nothing that states 55 mph is the top limit that can be used on any type of roadway. Are we going to see anything higher than 55 mph on a 2 lane roadway in NJ?  Nah.  But if someone wanted to push the issue, it's there for the pushing.

A 75 mph NJ Turnpike (easily the 85th percentile speed) would sure be something to see.

The last time anything was referenced about a higher speed limit, I believe a spokesperson said "the limit is fine as is".  Which was safety speak for "We have a speed limit on that road?  Surprises the hell out of me".

[Mike2357]

Actually the 85th percentile speed of the Jersey Turnpike is over 80 mph. And most NJ highways are far below that %tile.

https://www.nj.com/data/2018/08/should_the_speed_limit_on_njs_highways_be_higher_we_used_a_radar_gun_to_find_the_answer.html

[Roadgeekteen]

Actually the 85th percentile speed of the Jersey Turnpike is over 80 mph. And most NJ highways are far below that %tile.

https://www.nj.com/data/2018/08/should_the_speed_limit_on_njs_highways_be_higher_we_used_a_radar_gun_to_find_the_answer.html

I was just on I-80 in New Jersey west of I-287, police enforcement was heavy and most cars went around 70.

[Mike2357]

Actually the 85th percentile speed of the Jersey Turnpike is over 80 mph. And most NJ highways are far below that %tile.

https://www.nj.com/data/2018/08/should_the_speed_limit_on_njs_highways_be_higher_we_used_a_radar_gun_to_find_the_answer.html

I was just on I-80 in New Jersey west of I-287, police enforcement was heavy and most cars went around 70.

Well west of Roxbury I-80 is decently curvy, so 65 mph is reasonable, but it could still be bumped to 75 mph.

[thenetwork]

Ch Ch Ch Changes to the speed limits in North Dakota August 1st...80 MPH on the rural interstates, BUT many populated areas are going DOWN:

https://www.kvrr.com/2025/07/29/interstate-speed-limits-mostly-going-up-in-north-dakota-but-down-near-some-cities/

[sprjus4]

Ch Ch Ch Changes to the speed limits in North Dakota August 1st...80 MPH on the rural interstates, BUT many populated areas are going DOWN:

https://www.kvrr.com/2025/07/29/interstate-speed-limits-mostly-going-up-in-north-dakota-but-down-near-some-cities/

From what I see, a few towns with a couple clustered exits in rural areas will have a brief decrease from 75 mph to 70 mph, but that's about it. No major changes.

[Plutonic Panda]

But the speed limit goes around them to 80? If there's no justification for the reduction sounds like a speed trap to me.

[kphoger]

Pertinent conversation here and following.

[sprjus4]

But the speed limit goes around them to 80? If there's no justification for the reduction sounds like a speed trap to me.

Their justification is wanting people to slow down around those clustered exits and not blowing through at 80+ mph.

They figure one is more likely to pay attention to a drop from 80 mph to 70 mph rather than a drop from 80 mph to 75 mph.

I don't know the reality of how that will play out, but that is the reasoning.

[ElishaGOtis]

But the speed limit goes around them to 80? If there's no justification for the reduction sounds like a speed trap to me.

Their justification is wanting people to slow down around those clustered exits and not blowing through at 80+ mph.

They figure one is more likely to pay attention to a drop from 80 mph to 70 mph rather than a drop from 80 mph to 75 mph.

I don't know the reality of how that will play out, but that is the reasoning.

I think this is reasonable. Motorists are more likely to comply with a speed limit that directly affects conditions rather than the same speed limit which transitions from artificially low (75 rural) to properly set (75 urban-ish). Additionally, I think it's a good compromise politically (some limits up, some limits down). If this practice was used elsewhere, I think that'd make some increases more popular. There was also a study somewhere in Minnesota that showed higher compliance with a 10mph drop compared to 5mph, but this was in relation to rural high-speed traffic signals rather than freeways. Idk though, just my 2¢

New Mexico sorta does this a lot on rural towns with many exits, but from 75 to 65 rather than 80 to 70. I will admit it's kinda annoying since 65 is really getting down there, but maybe it works.

WOW look at me calling rural 75 artificially low 

[Scott5114]

I think this is reasonable. Motorists are more likely to comply with a speed limit that directly affects conditions rather than the same speed limit which transitions from artificially low (75 rural) to properly set (75 urban-ish).

Are they, though? When I'm in a rural area, I tend to set the cruise control. After a few of these "slow down for three exits" zones I'd probably be apt to just start ignoring them to avoid the hassle of cancelling and resuming cruise, and just hope that there's not a cop around.

[ElishaGOtis]

I think this is reasonable. Motorists are more likely to comply with a speed limit that directly affects conditions rather than the same speed limit which transitions from artificially low (75 rural) to properly set (75 urban-ish).

Are they, though? When I'm in a rural area, I tend to set the cruise control. After a few of these "slow down for three exits" zones I'd probably be apt to just start ignoring them to avoid the hassle of cancelling and resuming cruise, and just hope that there's not a cop around.

You make a good point. With all this there must be a balance. My main justification behind a drop like this would be if the operating speeds also considerably reduce near these clusters, especially due to merging traffic. If there are no continuous traffic conflicts which reduce the operating speeds naturally, then a speed drop would not be necessary. Granted, I've never been there but based on the maps it seems that would be the case.

"Oh my there's an exit less than 3 miles before the next!? Better reduce the speed limit!!" This justification without additional context is short-sighted. Do those exits have a lot of crashes? Do those exits result in a lot of merging traffic? Are there merging conflicts that affect the free-flow operating speeds? It should not be an automatic decision, but rather an engineering one, imho.

Has anyone been boots-on-the-ground since the speed limit increase/decrease in ND?

[Plutonic Panda]

Just curious, how are the police in ND? Are they lenient? Nebraska has really cool state troopers.

[Scott5114]

In the North Dakota thread that Kyle linked above, it looks like only five of these speed zones have been established (four on I-94 and one on I-29), so they're showing some degree of restraint, at least.

[oscar]

In the North Dakota thread that Kyle linked above, it looks like only five of these speed zones have been established (four on I-94 and one on I-29), so they're showing some degree of restraint, at least.

Of course, between the five areas with lowered speed limits, and two already with low limits, North Dakota doesn't have anything else resembling a metro area on its Interstates. (Williston and Minot are well off the Interstates, so they don't count.)

[kphoger]

When I'm in a rural area, I tend to set the cruise control. After a few of these "slow down for three exits" zones I'd probably be apt to just start ignoring them to avoid the hassle of cancelling and resuming cruise, and just hope that there's not a cop around.

Driving in Mexico, it's hilarious to be driving on a divided highway with a 110 km/h speed limit, then come through some tiny town with a 60 km/h speed zone.  Most drivers I see don't even drop the speedometer needle down a single tick, and I've started following suit.  If the speed drop is ridiculous enough, then we all know it's just plain ridiculous.

[thenetwork]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

[kphoger]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

[ElishaGOtis]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

State highway caps in TX are:
-75 all roadways unless
-80 for design speed 80+
-85 for design speed 85+
-80 on IH-10 and IH-20 in specified counties

[sprjus4]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

State highway caps in TX are:
-75 all roadways unless
-80 for design speed 80+
-85 for design speed 85+
-80 on IH-10 and IH-20 in specified counties

The default cap is 70 mph, anything posted at 75 mph or greater must be approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. What I think kphoger is referring to is how the TTC defines their speed zones.

Such as, "increase roadway to 75 mph from one county line to another", but it might remain at 70 mph in the other county... as opposed to "increase roadway to 75 mph from one town to another, crossing multiple county lines".

There's a couple of roads I am familiar with near Corpus Christi that (at least in the last few years, maybe they changed) were increased in one section to 75 mph, but after crossing the county line goes back down to 70 mph for no reason other than the county line. The condition and design of the roadway was the exact same, and no sharp corners to warrant any lower speed.

[ElishaGOtis]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

State highway caps in TX are:
-75 all roadways unless
-80 for design speed 80+
-85 for design speed 85+
-80 on IH-10 and IH-20 in specified counties

The default cap is 70 mph, anything posted at 75 mph or greater must be approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. What I think kphoger is referring to is how the TTC defines their speed zones.

Such as, "increase roadway to 75 mph from one county line to another", but it might remain at 70 mph in the other county... as opposed to "increase roadway to 75 mph from one town to another, crossing multiple county lines".

There's a couple of roads I am familiar with near Corpus Christi that (at least in the last few years, maybe they changed) were increased in one section to 75 mph, but after crossing the county line goes back down to 70 mph for no reason other than the county line. The condition and design of the roadway was the exact same, and no sharp corners to warrant any lower speed.

That would make sense that speed zones are defined by county line and section. Florida does that exact thing. However, I thought that the TTC had to approve a minute order for ALL speed zones, not just above the default? Am I misunderstanding this?

[CoreySamson]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

The Houston area also has that weird 90s/2000s emissions rule that capped all speed limits in its metro area counties (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller) at 65 mph (originally 55 mph!). From what I understand it has been repealed, as new roads like the Grand Parkway can be signed at higher limits within those counties, but despite that, none of the roads that existed when the rules were first put in place have been resigned to a higher limit. I'm honestly not sure why that is.

The end result is you get a lot of similar drops in speed limits upon entering Houston-area counties, even when the road condition and design remain the same. The most jarring one in my opinion is US 59 on the Liberty-San Jacinto county line, where the condition and design of US 59 degrades from freeway to an expressway with a lot of crossroads while the speed limit simultaneously goes up from 65 to 75, with not much change in traffic.

[kphoger]

anything posted at 75 mph or greater must be approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. What I think kphoger is referring to is how the TTC defines their speed zones.

Such as, "increase roadway to 75 mph from one county line to another", but it might remain at 70 mph in the other county... as opposed to "increase roadway to 75 mph from one town to another, crossing multiple county lines".

Exactly.  The areas approved for 75 mph or higher are defined by county.  So you can be driving along in the middle of nowhere, and the speed limit increases or decreases seemingly randomly.

[ElishaGOtis]

I can see urban speed drops on an interstate begin within a mile of the first exit in the slower zone.

What's dumb is when a state, like OHIO, drops the speed in the middle of a stretch of interstate where the next exit is still miles away.  Seriously, is 70 or 75 more dangerous than 60 or 65 as soon as you cross a jurisdiction (city or county), yet there is no additional traffic entering the freeway at that point?

Colorado does a good job at changing speed zones closer to exits and changing road conditions (curves, hills, tunnels,...) instead of jumping the gun 2+ miles away just for shits, giggles and potential cash cows.

Doesn't Texas still define its higher speed limit zones by county?  It's weird to be in the middle of nowhere and see the limit go up or down for no other reason than crossing a county line.

The Houston area also has that weird 90s/2000s emissions rule that capped all speed limits in its metro area counties (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller) at 65 mph (originally 55 mph!). From what I understand it has been repealed, as new roads like the Grand Parkway can be signed at higher limits within those counties, but despite that, none of the roads that existed when the rules were first put in place have been resigned to a higher limit. I'm honestly not sure why that is.

The end result is you get a lot of similar drops in speed limits upon entering Houston-area counties, even when the road condition and design remain the same. The most jarring one in my opinion is US 59 on the Liberty-San Jacinto county line, where the condition and design of US 59 degrades from freeway to an expressway with a lot of crossroads while the speed limit simultaneously goes up from 65 to 75, with not much change in traffic.

I was informed that part of the reason some of these still exist on freeways were due to the high number of speed-related crashes currently present on the corridors. That same concern was part of the justification to reduce a bunch of limits in east and southeast Texas a couple years ago.

Another interesting thing is that 65 was just established on I-10 as a new speed limit after the roadway was widened to the west of Houston. The original speed limit prior to widening was also 65, but usually a new limit is studied after re-construction in Texas, especially considering the speed limit signs were blank for a few months after completion (now 65, but showed blank into March https://maps.app.goo.gl/CHsfQbpvHL1dv8Wx8).

[Roadgeekteen]

I really don't get why 80 is so limited on Texas interstates. Most other states with 80 post it on all the interstates.