# Speed Limits in the United States and Canada



## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

So I've decided to create a thread dedicated to speed limits (both past and present) in the United States and Canada.

The current top speed in the US is on a toll road in Texas:










A far cry from early 1974 when the US adopted a federally mandated speed limit of 55 mph in response to the oil embargo:


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## xrtn2 (Jan 12, 2011)

85 km/h




:jk:


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Map of maximum speed limit in the USA


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

*MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT IN CANADA (km/h):*

Alberta *110*
British Columbia *120*
Manitoba *110*
New Brunswick *110*
Newfoundland and Labrador *100*
Northwest Territories *100*
Nova Scotia *110*
Nunavut N/A	
Ontario *100*
Prince Edward Island *90*
Saskatchewan *110*
Québec* 100*
Yukon *100*


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

They don't have speed limits in Nunavut? Granted, there aren't (m)any paved roads outside towns.


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## g.spinoza (Jul 21, 2010)

Are those limits respected? 65 mph is an awfully slow speed to drive America's long distances...


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

^^On 95 in Pennsylvania, which for some reason has a 55 limit its entire way through the state, I generally do about 70 and keep an eye out for cops. My father used to recommend "keeping up with traffic" - if everyone's 15 miles over the limit, they're not going to stop and ticket everyone.... (Speed cameras are still rare here, and may be nonexistent on freeways.)

Also, maybe I'm not getting into rural Pennsylvania enough lately, but I was surprised to see Pennsylvania labeled on that map as 70. Either that's a recent change or it's a mistake; I thought the nearest 70-mile zones to me were in Virginia and West Virginia.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

^^
It is a recent change and only in a few places, places I haven't been since:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/tr...sting-70-mph-speed-limit/stories/201407230149


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

The speed limit on sections of the Pennsylvania turnpike, I-80 and I-380 was raised to 70 mph in July 2014.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

g.spinoza said:


> Are those limits respected? 65 mph is an awfully slow speed to drive America's long distances...


They rarely are; it's common to drive 10 - 20 mph over speed limit. Obviously when people see a police on the roads they slow down :lol:

65 mph = 105 km/h

Ontario's and Quebec's maximum speed limit is 100 km/h!!!


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

italystf said:


> Map of maximum speed limit in the USA


What's going on in Southeast Texas? Looks as if Harris County (Houston) has a higher limit than most of the surrounding ones....


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## Innsertnamehere (Jun 8, 2010)

PEI is 90, but it doesn't have a freeway on it, so that makes sense.

Ontario has a 100km/h limit but it is in effect 120. There aren't any speed cameras in the province so the speed limits only matter for cops who rarely ticket for less than 20km/h over, unless you are doing 70km/h through a town that is zoned for 50km/h or something. (you should always obey the speed limit when there are pedestrians around anyway if you ask me)


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

Innsertnamehere said:


> PEI is 90, but it doesn't have a freeway on it, so that makes sense.
> 
> Ontario has a 100km/h limit but it is in effect 120. There aren't any speed cameras in the province so the speed limits only matter for cops who rarely ticket for less than 20km/h over, unless you are doing 70km/h through a town that is zoned for 50km/h or something. (you should always obey the speed limit when there are pedestrians around anyway if you ask me)


Ontario has among the best highways in the world; 100 km/h is a shame (even if people speed). That speed limit should be in urban areas, but not when you leave the urban areas.

110 km/h makes more sense.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Ontario and Québec should allow at least 120 km/h on freeways outside cities. Even in the prairies you can go faster on non-freeways.


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## SpiderBHZ (Feb 11, 2015)

xrtn2 said:


> 85 km/h
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where?? In some points on BR060 the speed limit is 110km.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

ChrisZwolle said:


> Ontario and Québec should allow at least 120 km/h on freeways outside cities. Even in the prairies you can go faster on non-freeways.


There is a lot of money to be made on the Hwy 401 fishing hole... at 120 km/h you'll fall asleep. So you try and drive 140 like much other traffic, but watch for cops. In Eastern Ontario they had Mercedes-Benz patrol cars for a while, and Volvo S70 T5's, and now, unmarked black Toyota Venzas. There are few people there, probably police outnumber residents, but many Toronto and Montreal people get a haircut on their wallet...

Anyway it is important to note the "Maximum 100" limits in Ontario and Quebec date back to a similar thing as the 55 mph in the US. Specifically the federal Trudeau government circa 1974 pushed for a maximum speed limit of 60 mph. Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and other places typically had 70 mph speed limits on freeways and 60 mph speeds on 2-lane roads. Ontario put freeways at 60 and 2-lanes at 50, Quebec put freeways at 60 and 2-lanes at 55. After metrication it became 100/80 in ON and 100/90 in PQ. 

I believe BC had the same thing but eventually relented and allowed 110 again, and now 120. Alberta I think consistently ignored the deal (annoying Trudeau was a bonus) and kept 70/60 until today's 110/100 AFAIK.



-Valentino- said:


> Ontario has among the best highways in the world; 100 km/h is a shame (even if people speed). That speed limit should be in urban areas, but not when you leave the urban areas.
> 
> 110 km/h makes more sense.


Not even, look at Ontario's urban freeways, they do not require reduced speeds at all. 140 is a decent limit on pretty much all the GTA-region freeways aside from junk like the Gardiner... if anything traffic is moving much faster on uncongested roads in the GTA than elsewhere in Ontario (probably because the drivers are familiar with the roads and/or where the cops hide!)

Look at the A4 through Katowice, Poland, it has a collector-express setup like the 401... IIRC 2+3+3+2... The express lanes are limit 140 and the collectors limit 120. It works well - and this road is like half the width or standard of newer parts of 401 across the GTA... where people are driving 140 right now all the time so clearly safety is not an issue.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

I-5 in Seattle is nominally at 60 mph (100 km/h), but it has variable speed limits northbound if traffic is bad, which is most of the time. 









http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2010/08/smarter-highways.jpg

^^ Good luck even getting to 35 in that situation.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Lane-discipline fetishists will note that treating every lane but the far right as a passing lane is actually illegal in that situation....


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

I've seen trucks attempt to go into the left HOV lane from time to time. During the afternoon it gets better once you pass downtown and can get into the reversible express lanes. You could possibly get to 60 there.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Is the 50 a HOV lane? That wasn't clear. I thought they were encouraging passing in the left lane by permitting a higher speed.

It reminded me of something someone once posted - from Buenos Aires, I think - of a freeway with a good number of lanes where each lane had a different speed limit, each one 10 km/h higher than the next one to the right.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

Chinese expressways usually have that. Something like 80 max 60 min in the right lane, 120 max 80 min in the middle, 120 max 110 min in the left...


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Penn's Woods said:


> Is the 50 a HOV lane? That wasn't clear. I thought they were encouraging passing in the left lane by permitting a higher speed.


Yes, except for a small section to permit people to enter the reversible express lane.









http://postimg.org/image/9p2f3oyn1/f0973730/


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## El Tiburon (Mar 21, 2010)

Over 20 years ago I drove from Niagara Falls to Quebec City and the speed limit signs displayed a limit of 100 km/h (62.5 mph) which is as unrealistic as the old 55 mph American national speed limit. I noticed, however, that everyone was driving at a steady 130 km/h (80 mph) and that there were signs with the prices of the speeding tickets showing a huge price increase for the tickets for driving over 130 km/h. I also noticed that there was very good lane discipline and that 130 km/h was the safest speed to drive for road conditions. So I drove at that speed like everyone else and was never stopped in any of the many speed traps being run by the Ontario Provincila Police and the Surette du Quebec. 

I don't know if those highway patrolmen continue to act rationally or if they have become roving cashiers or tax collectors like lots of their American counterparts who are more concerned with revenue collection than with highway saferty.


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## ssiguy2 (Feb 19, 2005)

I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket for going 120km/hr on Ontario freeways. The freeways are lightly monitored and due to the traffic and heavy population the roads are at least 6 lanes but but were build with thin medians.This has meant that for most of the freeway busy areas, there is no room for police to monitor the speed limits. There are no speed cameras so in the bigger cities where 6 lanes is the thinnest road you will find you can effectively go as fast as you want. 

The speed limits in Ontario are low but the reality is that the speeds are not well monitored and as long as you keep it under 130 or so you are basically fine.


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## binhai (Dec 22, 2006)

Speed limits are 55 or 65 in CT, but most people drive 70-80 mph, speed enforcement is quite light.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

????-1974 and 1995 to 1999 Montana had no daytime speed limit for cars. EDIT: These signs were typically reserved for the Montana state line.










Illinois speed limit sign from 1959:


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## Colin145 (Nov 2, 2014)

Penn's Woods said:


> Lane-discipline fetishists will note that treating every lane but the far right as a passing lane is actually illegal in that situation....


Pretty sure I don't get sexually aroused from reducing congest, road rage and accidents.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Given that "lane discipline" is the only subject we ever hear from you on, I'm not convinced of that.


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## Colin145 (Nov 2, 2014)

Penn's Woods said:


> Given that "lane discipline" is the only subject we ever hear from you on, I'm not convinced of that.


Oh there's ceartanly more it's just you haven't bother looking for it


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

BarbaricManchurian said:


> Speed limits are 55 or 65 in CT, but most people drive 70-80 mph, speed enforcement is quite light.


CT is definitely lax on speed limits on the highways. You can easily go past the entire state and not see any troopers. Maybe on I-84 you will see one cop car in the median inbetween Danbury and Waterbury. NY and MA on the other hand...they're everywhere.


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## Ders453 (Dec 3, 2011)




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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Ders453 said:


>


Nice video. Must of been before 2011-12 when Texas removed nighttime and truck speed limits.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

The Pennsylvania turnpike opened in 1940 and did not have a set speed limit. 











In 1941, a 70 mph limit was enacted.










When the United States entered World War 2, a national 'war speed limit' of 35 mph was enacted due to gasoline rationing.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

70 mph is a pretty impressive speed even in a new 1941 car. I think even a V8 Cadillac might have been lucky to touch 100 MPH then.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

I've seen 1950-ish road maps with little information boxes that show, among other things, the speed limits in the states covered, and they're surprisingly low. 40, 50....


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## Nils de Gothia (Mar 11, 2013)

Ders453 said:


>


I wish we had these park like medians over here. Beautiful driving experience.


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## Autoputevi kao hobi (Jan 8, 2014)

From some reason i always thought that speed limit on Interstates in USA is 65mp/h.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

On some of them it is, but not all, it depends on the states and the region you are in.


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## Autoputevi kao hobi (Jan 8, 2014)

When i was younger i used to play American truck simulator and on every Interstate speed limit was 65mp/h


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Actually for a while - probably before AkH was born - it was. When the national 55 was repealed, it became a national 65. Some states chose to stay at 55. I don't know how long it lasted before the feds just altogether stopped legislating on speed*.

*Nice double meaning there!


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

Ah yes that is right, the 1986 exemption to 65 mph for high-standard freeways and the 1995 repeal of the NMSL legislation - thanks, Jim Baxter! 

and in similar note... 70 mph in MD, soon?
http://www.somdnews.com/article/201...-limit-has-traction&template=southernMaryland


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

We've come a long way from the days when Maryland was notorious for "rolling roadblocks":

http://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0710/aroll.html

(I remember seeing somewhere, years ago, that the percentage of drivers speeding in Maryland was off-the-charts low.)


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Penn's Woods said:


> We've come a long way from the days when Maryland was notorious for "rolling roadblocks":
> 
> http://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0710/aroll.html
> 
> (I remember seeing somewhere, years ago, that the percentage of drivers speeding in Maryland was off-the-charts low.)


I remember the Philly PD doing that one morning on I-95 when I was commuting back in 2005.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

More vintage/pre-NMSL speed limit signs:

Iowa











Missouri


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

^^ that's almost as bad as the Polish one


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

'Federal Highways'. That would make some people on AA Roads crazy


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

^^I was about to say....*

(Some of them already are. I haven't been there in a while, actually.)

*About "Federal highways," not the mental state of AARoads members.


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

Ingsoc75 said:


> ????-1974 and 1995 to 1999 Montana had no daytime speed limit for cars.


Yes, but!!! it was up to highway patrolmen to decide on the spot what was "reasonable and prudent". So, the law in this regard was given into the hands of traffic police which is bad practice IMO. I read somewhere that they started to issue fines for "non-reasonable" speed already at 140-150 km/h (85 - 95 mph).

This eventually lead to the death of the "reasonable and prudent" limit when a motorist fought his speeding ticket in court and ultimately won the case. The court stated that "reasonable and prudent" is too vague and thus police cannot issue fines based on self-defined speed excesses.
The guy was good to go, but revenge came shortly afterwards, the "reasonable and prudent" was replaced by a 75 mph limit. 

BTW was there a formal definition of "night"? Or was this also up to some cop to decide?


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Corvinus said:


> Yes, but!!! it was up to highway patrolmen to decide on the spot what was "reasonable and prudent". So, the law in this regard was given into the hands of traffic police which is bad practice IMO. I read somewhere that they started to issue fines for "non-reasonable" speed already at 140-150 km/h (85 - 95 mph).
> 
> This eventually lead to the death of the "reasonable and prudent" limit when a motorist fought his speeding ticket in court and ultimately won the case. The court stated that "reasonable and prudent" is too vague and thus police cannot issue fines based on self-defined speed excesses.
> The guy was good to go, but revenge came shortly afterwards, the "reasonable and prudent" was replaced by a 75 mph limit.
> ...


I remember that case. It was the doubled edged sword of "reasonable and prudent". A person could also be pulled over and cited for going 35 mph on an interstate grade highway during a rain or snow storm. 

I believe the formal definition of a night time speed limit is something like 30 minutes after dusk and before dawn.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Here is another type of speed limit sign found on Montana highways during reasonable and prudent years:










A pre-1974 speed limit sign made so that the night time speed limit was seen when headlights were on at night:


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

As far as the definition of "night" is concerned...

weather.com has recently taken to showing on the forecast page for any given place a sun-and-moon graph that shows, among other things, "civil twilight." Which, at least at this latitude at this time of year, starts 27 minutes before sunrise and ends 27 minutes after sunset:

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/l/USPA1276:1:US
Scroll about halfway down.

My guess - just a guess - is that "night" would be the period between civil twilights. (I know the graph shows "nautical" and "astronomical" twilights as well, with "night" apparently coming after astronomical, but the word "civil" suggests to me that that's twilight for legal purposes.)

At any rate, it's a cool graph. :cheers:


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

The Kansas Turnpike had an 80 mph speed limit until around 1971 when it was lowered to 75 mph and then 55 mph in 1974.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Some of Ohio's speed limit signs had a different layout during the 65mph years.










Oregon is the only state west of the Mississippi river to still have a maximum speed limit of 65 mph for cars.

Also of interest is that some of Oregon's speed limit signs do not have the word "LIMIT" on them.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

^^ In California some placed on their freeways had "MAXIMUM" like in Canada.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

*Maximum Speed Limit Worldwide:*


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

Xusein said:


> CT is definitely lax on speed limits on the highways. You can easily go past the entire state and not see any troopers. Maybe on I-84 you will see one cop car in the median inbetween Danbury and Waterbury. NY and MA on the other hand...they're everywhere.


I have a completely different experience when I've driven through CT. I always saw troopers along the interstate except in the evening.


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## myosh_tino (Apr 8, 2010)

-Valentino- said:


> ^^ In California some placed on their freeways had "MAXIMUM" like in Canada.


Not really like Canada. Older California speed limit signs said "MAXIMUM SPEED" and were created when the 55 MPH NMSL was in effect because of California's basic speed law.


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## -Valentino- (Feb 13, 2015)

myosh_tino said:


> Not really like Canada. Older California speed limit signs said "MAXIMUM SPEED" and were created when the 55 MPH NMSL was in effect because of California's basic speed law.


You're right sorry... not I remember.

I like Maximum Speed more than Speed Limit.


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Croatia has 130, not 140.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Old Texas state line speed limit sign:










This is a common site on I-87 in upstate New York going to the Canadian border:


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

^^ Actually Quebec's 1950's speed limit did not exist (reasonable and prudent)
And Ontario and Quebec's 1960's speed limits were 70 MPH already...

the 60 mph / 100 km only came after the '73-'74 oil crisis like the American 55.

But for only rural, everyone is doing 120 in the urban areas too. I mean, Hwy 401 across Toronto... either you are at 140 or you are stopped :lol:


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

Corvinus said:


> (I don't know any European country that would sign/allow 120 km/h on simple two-lane roads, although some such examples from Germany were mentioned).


Simple two-lane (1+1) roads without dividers are always 100 km/h in Germany. 

2+2 without divider can be unlimited (for cars), 1+1 motorized-only roads with a divider have the same rules as any Autobahn. There are a handful 2+1 roads without dividers (nominally 100 km/h) with a 120 km/h limit though.


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## riiga (Nov 2, 2009)

Sweden used to have 110 km/h on some regular roads up in the north, they're only 100 km/h nowadays though.


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## Blackraven (Jan 19, 2006)

-Valentino- said:


> *MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT IN CANADA (km/h):*
> 
> Newfoundland and Labrador *100*
> Northwest Territories *100*
> ...


This is ridiculous. Those places (especially Ontario) have some of the best roads in the North American continent.........yet the max speed limit is so slow.

Any modern car can easily reach those speeds with no problem.

It's definitely time to raise the speed limit


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

Of course
But it isn't like anyone actually is driving at such limit
Even clueless drivers who will drive too slow and proclaim they always drive the limit, are keeping their speedo needle over 110 at all times.

for the NWT and the Yukon though I am not sure it is so slow, you need to watch out for bears, frost heaves in the paved roads, and washboards on the gravel... not to mention weather conditions... honestly the concept of speed limit in such remote region is useless. Maybe you can make 200 km/h but maybe you can only go 20 km/h on the same section of road. Fortunately I don't think concept of speeding ticket even exists out there (at least not like in non-GTA Ontario)

It is amusing to consider same speed limit on something like Hwy 407 racetrack in Toronto vs. some road in the Yukon with AADT of 500 grizzly bears :lol:


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

How common is it for Canadians to travel to the northern areas of the country by car? Is it something they'll do on a family road trip, or are only a few travelers doing that? I've been following this guy on Youtube, a Canadian trucker, but he doesn't seem to get anywhere north of the Yellowhead Highway.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

I would call it extremely rare

It's relatively common for people (either young people or families) to make an east-west trip (say, to Vancouver from Toronto and east, frequently via the USA) but north is really rare. I think one day I'll go (maybe up James Bay) but not for a while. The scenery up there doesn't seem very compelling (compare with, say, Rocky Mountains), there are no human-related things of interest and there are huge mosquitoes everywhere.

There are relatively considerable number of people from Edmonton and BC going up Alaska Highway though in the summer, many RV's...


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## 6a (May 9, 2015)

Haljackey said:


> Interesting... looks like every continental US state now has limits above 100km/h / 60 MPH



Did the Northern Territory of Australia enact a speed limit? I'd swear the last time this picture was posted they didn't have one.


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## Corvinus (Dec 8, 2010)

Though it's OT, yes, unfortunately they gave up the no-limit regulation and have a 130 km/h upper limit. 
So, which regions apart from Germany and the Isle of Man remain with an absence of a general speed limit on certain roads?


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

Northern Territory abolished speed limits on some long-distance routes again in 2014.


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

Haljackey said:


> Interesting... looks like every continental US state now has limits above 100km/h / 60 MPH


LOL, how is that 65 mile/h is equal to 105 km/h? If the measurement is 5 mile/h to 10 km/h in this map?


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

65 mph is pretty close to 105, like 104.6 km/h, but where in the world is there a limit of 105 km/h 

But yeah, there is some rounding to keep things comparable
e.g. 55 mph is more like 88 km/h, 85 mph is more like 137 km/h than 140, 100 km/h is more like 62,5 mph than 60...


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## RipleyLV (Jun 4, 2008)

^^ Makes sense.


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## 6a (May 9, 2015)

Corvinus said:


> Though it's OT, yes, unfortunately they gave up the no-limit regulation and have a 130 km/h upper limit.
> So, which regions apart from Germany and the Isle of Man remain with an absence of a general speed limit on certain roads?


Sorry for the off topic bit, but thanks for your answer.


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## jjmlawa (Aug 29, 2014)

I'm pretty sure Louisiana has a speed limit of 70 mph


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

I just came across this photo from 1942:










The Pennsylvania turnpike, opened in 1940, was the first freeway in the US and maybe the first one outside Germany.
I though there was no speed limit back in the old days.


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## Kanadzie (Jan 3, 2014)

it's pretty impressive 70 mph limit in 1942
Most US cars had very weak flat-head engines, 70 mph would be more than many of them would be able to sustain constantly

It would be like seeing today speed limit 250 km/h :lol:


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes, for this reason I though that speed limits weren't much a concern in the old days, as most cars, weren't capable of high speeds anyway.
Most Italian motorways had no speed limit at all before 1973 oil crisis. But most cars that were popular in those years, like Fiat 500, Fiat 600, etc... weren't capable to drive above 130 anyway.
Apart from that, people became more conscious about traffic safety (and air pollution) only after the car boom in the 1960s. In the early days of automobile era: greater speed = more modern and better car and more fun!


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

jjmlawa said:


> I'm pretty sure Louisiana has a speed limit of 70 mph


Portions of I-49 are posted at 75 mph.


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## Ingsoc75 (Jul 1, 2011)

Recent news:

-Wisconsin finally increases speed limit to 70mph

-Nevada and Montana speed limits will increase to 80 mph this year


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