What Are The Different Kinds Of Speed Limits? (June 2025)

Speeding and Its Consequences

Speeding includes the following risky behaviors:

• Traveling too fast for the existing road or weather conditions
• Exceeding the legal speed limit

The first violation is based on the speed that would be reasonable under the circumstances. For example, you should travel slower if visibility is poor due to fog or the roads are slippery after a rainstorm to reduce your likelihood of car accidents.

The second violation is based on the road policies set by local, state and federal governments. The input that goes into setting these rules may include the following:

• Safety
• Convenience
• Location
• Road design
• Typical road use

While many drivers see speed limits as an inconvenience, they usually result from balancing many concerns that are served by increasing or decreasing speed limits.

For example, studies suggest that a road’s fatal car accidents by year increase by 4% as the average speed on a road increases by 1%. Governments manage this risk by setting speed limits and enforcing them with police patrols and automated camera systems.

What Are the Different Kinds of Speed Limits?

Speed limits might all seem the same to drivers. However, traffic engineers define the following three speed limit types:

Basic Speed Limit Definition

The basic speed limit, also called the statutory speed limit, is the default speed limit for a road. You must observe this speed limit when there is no posted sign.

For example, most roads in residential neighborhoods have a default speed limit of 25 miles per hour. If you exceed this speed limit, the police can ticket you, and you will typically be liable for any car, pedestrian and bicycle accident injuries you cause.

Absolute Speed Limit Definition

The absolute speed limit is the posted speed limit for a road. This number may simply remind you of the basic speed limit for the road. However, it can also differ from the basic speed limit, allowing drivers to go faster or requiring them to slow down on certain roads.

For example, suppose the basic speed limit on a rural highway is 50 miles per hour. As it approaches a factory, the highway’s speed limit may drop to 35 miles per hour because of the traffic in and out of the building’s parking lot. Local road officials would enforce the absolute speed limit over this stretch of road with a speed limit sign.

Special Conditions Speed Limit Definition

Certain conditions may require lower speeds. Traffic officials can set speed limits that override both the basic and absolute speed limits when these conditions are in effect. Examples of special condition speed limits include:

• School zone speed limits
• Work zone speed limits
• Damaged road speed limits

A special condition speed limit is preventive. By slowing down in these areas, drivers can maintain better control of their vehicles if a child or road worker enters the street.

How Governments Set Speed Limits

What are the different kinds of speed limits designed around, and how do governments set them? The actual process of setting a speed limit takes time and usually requires an expert analysis to balance all the factors.

According to federal regulations, any deviation from the state’s statutory speed limit requires a study by a licensed engineer. The engineer will examine the physical characteristics of the road as well as its traffic load and typical use.

However, speed limits are about more than the ability of the road to handle faster speeds. The engineer will also look at the following factors:

• History of auto accidents
• Public sentiment for increasing, decreasing or maintaining the speed limit
• Impact on parking
• Adjacent land use
• Air quality
• Noise pollution
• Effect on sidewalks, bike lanes and other non-motorized traffic infrastructure

The engineering study can take several months, depending on the scope of the project. Once the study is completed, the government will often hold public hearings to collect input from people affected by the change. Finally, the government will issue a decision and enact the changes.

Impact of Speed Limits on Liability

The speed limit may determine driver negligence. Negligence means that someone acted without reasonable care. Negligence examples include one driver following another too closely or failing to signal before changing lanes. Negligence occurs when one driver fails to exercise the level of caution expected of an ordinary, careful driver.

Almost all drivers speed at some time during their lives. Negligence occurs when, from an objective standpoint, a driver knew or should have known that their speed was unreasonably dangerous under those circumstances.

Thus, going five miles per hour over the speed limit might not constitute negligence during the day on a straight road. However, traveling the same speed on the same road might constitute negligence if it occurred at night during a snowstorm.

Contact ConsumerShield to Learn About Speed Limits and the Law

ConsumerShield helps people understand their legal situations and find a lawyer. Whether you are facing a traffic ticket, criminal charge or injury lawsuit, contact us for a free case review and a referral to a lawyer who can help you.