State Laws

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Maximum Posted Speed Limits For Passenger Vehicles

as of September 2005

The following table lists the speed limits for various types of roads in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Limited access highways are multiple-lane roads with restricted access using exit and entrance ramps rather than intersections. Interstate highways are part of the national system of limited access highways that connect the nation's principal metropolitan areas and industrial centers. The interstate system is divided into urban and rural sections. The distinction between urban and rural areas is based on population density figures from the US Census Bureau and adjusted by state and local government to reflect planning and other issues. Urban sections are within a census area with an urban population of 5,000 to 49,999 or within a designated urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or greater. Speed limits for commercial use trucks, if different, are listed in red.

Congress repealed the National Maximum Speed Limit in 1995. As of May 2005, 31 states had raised speed limits to 70 mph or higher on some portion of their roadway systems.

State	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads	Effective date of limits on		Effective date of limits on
	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads
Alabama	70	65	65	65	5/21/96	5/21/96	5/21/96	5/21/96
Alaska	65	55	65	55	1/15/88	no action	8/25/99	no action
Arizona	75	55	55	55	12/8/95	no action	no action	no action
Arkansas	70 trucks: 65	55	60	55	8/19/96	no action	8/19/96	no action
California	70 trucks: 55	65	70	65	1/8/96	1/8/96	1/8/96	no action
Colorado	75	65	65	65	6/24/96	6/24/96	6/24/96	no action
Connecticut	65	55	65	55	10/1/98	no action	10/1/98	no action
Delaware	65	55	65	55	1/17/96	no action	1/17/96	no action
District of Columbia	N/A	55	N/A	25	1974	no action	no action	no action
Florida	70	65	70	65	4/8/96	4/8/96	4/8/96	4/8/96

State	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads	Effective date of limits on		Effective date of limits on
	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads
Georgia	70	65	65	65	7/1/96	7/1/96	7/1/96	7/1/96
Hawaii	60	50	45	45	1974	no action	no action	no action
Idaho	75 trucks: 65	75	65	65	5/1/96	5/1/96	5/1/96	5/1/96
Illinois	65 trucks: 55	55	65	55	1/25/96	no action	1/25/96	no action
Indiana	70 trucks: 65	55	60	55	7/1/05	no action	7/1/05	no action
Iowa	70	55	70	55	7/1/05	no action	7/1/05	no action
Kansas	70	70	70	65	3/7/96	3/7/96	3/7/96	3/7/96
Kentucky	65	65	65	55	6/8/87	no action	no action	no action
Louisiana	70	70	70	65	8/15/97	8/15/97	8/15/97	8/15/97
Maine	65	65	65	60	6/12/87	6/12/87	6/12/87	6/12/87

State	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads	Effective date of limits on		Effective date of limits on
	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads
Maryland	65	65	65	55	7/1/95	8/1/96	8/1/96	no action
Massachusetts	65	65	65	55	1/5/92	1/29/96	1/29/96	no action
Michigan	70 trucks: 55	65	70	55	8/1/96	8/1/96	8/1/96	no action
Minnesota	70	65	65	55	7/1/97	7/1/97	7/1/97	no action
Mississippi	70	70	70	65	2/29/96	2/29/96	2/29/96	2/29/96
Missouri	70	60	70	65	3/13/96	3/13/96	3/13/96	3/13/96
Montana	75 trucks: 65	65	day: 70 night: 65	day: 70 night: 65	5/28/99	5/28/99	5/28/99	5/28/99
Nebraska	75	65	65	60	9/1/96	9/1/96	9/1/96	9/1/96
Nevada	75	65	70	70	12/8/95	12/8/95	12/8/95	12/8/95
New Hampshire	65	65	55	55	4/16/87	5/29/96	no action	no action

State	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads	Effective date of limits on		Effective date of limits on
	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads
New Jersey	65	55	65	55	1/19/98	no action	1/19/98	no action
New Mexico	75	75	65	55	5/15/96	no action	5/15/96	no action
New York	65	65	65	55	8/1/95	7/16/96	7/16/96	no action
North Carolina	70	70	70	55	8/5/96	8/5/96	10/1/96	no action
North Dakota	75	75	70	65	8/1/03	8/1/03	8/1/03	8/1/03
Ohio	65 trucks: 55; 65 on Ohio Turnpike	65	55	55	7/15/87	7/28/96	no action	no action
Oklahoma	75	70	70	70	8/29/96	8/29/96	8/29/96	8/29/96
Oregon	65 trucks: 55	55	55	55	6/27/87	no action	no action	no action
Pennsylvania	65	55	65	55	7/13/95	no action	5/10/96	no action
Rhode Island	65	55	55	55	5/12/96	no action	no action	no action

 

State	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads	Effective date of limits on		Effective date of limits on
	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Cars (mph)	Rural inter- states	Urban inter- states	Other limited access roads	Other roads
South Carolina	70	70	60	55	4/30/99	4/30/99	4/30/99	no action
South Dakota	75	75	70	70	4/1/96	4/1/96	7/1/05	7/1/05
Tennessee	70	70	70	65	3/25/98	5/15/01	5/15/01	5/15/01
Texas	day: 75 night: 65 trucks: 65	day: 70 night: 65	day: 75 night: 65 trucks: 65	day: 60 night: 55	9/1/99	9/1/99	9/1/99	9/1/99
Utah	75	65	75	65	5/1/96	5/1/96	5/1/96	5/1/96
Vermont	65	55	50	50	4/21/87	no action	no action	no action
Virginia	65	65	65	55	7/1/88	7/1/01	2/13/96	no action
Washington	70 trucks: 60	60	60	60	3/15/96	3/15/96	3/15/96	3/15/96
West Virginia	70	55	65	55	8/25/97	no action	8/25/97	no action
Wisconsin	65	65	65	55	6/17/87	8/1/96	8/1/96	no action
Wyoming	75	60	65	65	12/8/95	12/8/95	12/8/95	12/8/95

Provided by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

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