Speed limit, when you see the sign or....
 

On a road where the speed limit changes from 35 to 70 (beginning of a 4 lane toll road) does the speed limit change when you can see the sign, or once you past its physical location.

There are obvious answers to this I know, for example a school zone, where there is a thick white line painted on the road to denote the beginning and end of the 20 mph zone.

I have always been curious about this.

Thoughts?

Bill
SmileWavy

Zone starts or ends at the sign location unless otherwise stated

When the signs change from 35 to 70, I've always assumed you need to be going at least 70 by the time you reach the sign.

That is my understanding as well.

Well, If it goes from 70 to 35 you must to be doing 35 when you reach the sign so..........

:D

The popo likes to camp out right before the 70 mph sign. If the turbo has warmed up by then, I try to stay at 35 until right when I reach the sign and am right near him if he is there, and then put the hammer down, otherwise, I agree with Supe...

Technically, the area between the 35mph signs is 35mph (duh). Therefore, you must begin slowing down BEFORE you get to the speed zone, but you cannot speed up until AFTER you leave the speed zone. It's not being able to go 70 when you hit that far sign that says 70, because you must be going 35 right up until the point that you pass that sign.

This is a very good question I've always wondered about. At the border between L.A. and Beverly Hills, it's the opposite. Along Wilshire Boulevard, the speed in L.A. is 35, but as soon as one crosses the "line" into Beverly Hills (noted by the B.H. sign), the speed drops to 25. However, the 25-mph sign is posted some distance in from the "line."

B.H. motorcycle cops w/radar used to have a field day nabbing cars for speeding at 25 or more once they entered Beverly Hills. I always thought this was unfair as not everyone knows the speed limit in the city is 25 mph, and there are no signs to state as much until one is well within city limits.

I always thought that if I ever were pulled over going 35 in the B.H. 25 zone at the LA/BH border, the city would have a good fight on its hands.

We shouldn't even have to worry about these things. Reasonable people would say if you started accellerating before the sign, with clear road ahead, it would not be a big deal. Likewise, if you were down to the lower speed reasonably quickly after passing the reduced speed sign, with clear road ahead, that should be fine as well. But, alas, when we are discussing traffic enforcement, "reasonable" does not come into play.

A driver of mine was pulled over for speeding not long ago. He told the officer he saw the 45 MPH sign so he was accelerating to 45 when he passed the cop. He was ina 25 MPH zone.

He didn't get a ticket but the officer confirmed that a speed limit sign designates the start/end of that MPH.

in addition to 4.9 mph over law here in Fla
they cannot change the speed limit by more then 10mph
that does lead to clusters of speed zones 70-60 50-40 -35
in some places when entering or leaving a city
but I think that is better then a 70 to 35 sudden shift

Some speed traps have it so you have to slam on the brakes to be going the lower speed at the sign. If I see a 15 mph difference or more I become alert.

Not many people are aware of that and just take their foot off the pedal to coast down.. and get tagged.

Washington's SR14 along the Columbia R at the Washington/Oregun border heading west is such a trap. The slower zone sign is on a tricky turn so the tourist is navigating the road and maybe slamming the brakes on a sharp turn.

Some traps are after a sharp downhill with a lower limit sign. I found one of those in Tennessee. PD was so pissed he missed me that he started following me. Tried to sneak up on me in the twisties at night. I pulled over at a rest stop and stayed there till I saw him going back to his perch.

That is so wrong on so many levels...What if a car is behind you when you have to slam on the brakes to avoid a ticket? It clearly shows that the primary role of speed limit enforcement is generating revenue, and safety of the motorists come second. Simply disgusting.

Aurel

You're surprised by this?

Expect more of it in the months to come too as cities start crying about revenues being down. Not that cutting spending would ever enter their minds - they'll just try to write more tickets and crack down on other oft-overlooked "revenue streams" with a previously-unrealized zeal.

the finest scam happened to me in around 1969 when I was driving a very high performance street racer 427 L88 Corvette from Florida to NY in S Carolina at night before the Interstate was completed.

I was driving the speed limit due to the car I was driving and also wearing NY license plates. Some car starts flashing me from behind on a 2 lane road. I pull over to the side of the lane to give him room to pass me by. He didn't pass but kept flashing me. I pulled over again. He flashed a few more times and then fell back about a 1/4 mile. Then he comes up again and starts flashing me wildly. I pull over as he's still flashing. Then the Christmas red lights come on. I pull over. He tags me for doing 55 mph in a 30 mph zone.

When the sign came up he had his brights flashing so I couldn't see the sign. I paid and complained in a letter to the N Carolina HP what happened.

That is the most amazing story ever!