When do speed limit signs take effect?

[twistedmic]

When, exactly, do speed limit signs take effect? Does the new speed limit (from slower to faster for example) come into play once the sign is clearly visible or is there an 'imaginary line' ,where the sign is posted, that you have to cross before speeding up?

My mom called me earlier and told me that she had been pulled over by some cop (just outside of some middle of nowhere town) and claimed that she was speeding. What happened was that she was in a 45mph zone and saw a sign showing the new speed limit was 55mph. She sped up as soon as she saw the sign. The cop told her that the speed limit didn't change until you passed the sign (not before) and gave her a $220 speeding ticket. I should also note that my mom had just driven through a speed trap when she was pulled over.

 

[Marter]

I always thought it was when you passed the sign, but I'm not really sure.

<url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/171324.asp>This page says I'm right.

 

[Insanum]

A speed limit applies just after the sign.

Lets say, For example:

You are in a 30mph zone. You see a sign on the crest of a hill that says 50mph. The road on the other side of the hill is where you should accelerate to 50mph. The road before[/I] the sign is still 30mph.

And a second example:

You are on a 50mph road, and see a sign up ahead that says 30mph. You must be at[/I] 30mph by the time you get to the sign.

In the UK, if the speed limit sign Does not[/I] have a red circle around it, then it is not mandatory (i.e Motorway Matrix Signs). The only one where this doesnt apply is the national speed limit sign.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I don't know about where you live, each state has different de jure and de facto rules. For example, in Texas, I do believe that you are actually not supposed to speed up until after passing the sign- according to the law as written. In practice, the police expect you to speed up as soon as the sign is at all visible, and to be going 10 miles over the speed limit at all times.

Technically, I think it is passing the sign.

 

[Callum Hamilton]

You allready have your question answered mate...
By a policeman. I'd listen to that.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Dirty move by the cop positioning himself there, but he wasn't in the wrong.

-m

 

[AVATAR_RAGE]

When you pass the sign the new speed limit is in place. But it starts as soon as you pass the sign, so you have to be at that speed when you pass.

 

[Jark212]

It takes effect the second you notice a cop...

Or when your in a school zone...

 

[Matt_LRR]

When you pass the sign the new speed limit is in place. But it starts as soon as you pass the sign, so you have to be at that speed when you pass.

you never have to be at the speed limit.

-m

 

[Virgil]

You should always be at the lower of the two speeds when passing a sign. That eliminates any ambiguity.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I don't know about where you live, each state has different de jure and de facto rules. For example, in Texas, I do believe that you are actually not supposed to speed up until after passing the sign- according to the law as written. In practice, the police expect you to speed up as soon as the sign is at all visible, and to be going 10 miles over the speed limit at all times.

Technically, I think it is passing the sign.

Except suburbs, where it's only 5 MPH over...

 

[Abedeus]

Also to add - it usually applies to the road beginning at the sign until the next intersection/roundabout. Unless (at least in Poland) it's in a square sign, and not a round one, then it's a zone-wide limit, until you leave the zone and you see a canceled sign.

 

[mattttherman3]

Doesn't change till you pass the sign unfortunately, fight the ticket anyway, usually you can get the prosecutor to drop the amount of money if you plead out.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Also to add - it usually applies to the road beginning at the sign until the next intersection/roundabout. Unless (at least in Poland) it's in a square sign, and not a round one, then it's a zone-wide limit, until you leave the zone and you see a canceled sign.

Or in BC, which is probably more similar to most other north american jurisdictions:

All urban roads are limited to 50kph, all highways to 80kph unless otherwise posted. School and playground zones are 30kph from 7AM-5PM.

Most residential areas post 30 or 40 KPH signs to reduce speed around houses and on side streets.

Most highways, (once they open up into multiple lanes, or break out of an urban area) will post increased limits between 90-120kph.

But all drivers are expected to operate under the assumption that a road is 50, and a highway is 80, and be looking for signs that modify that.

-m

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I don't know about where you live, each state has different de jure and de facto rules. For example, in Texas, I do believe that you are actually not supposed to speed up until after passing the sign- according to the law as written. In practice, the police expect you to speed up as soon as the sign is at all visible, and to be going 10 miles over the speed limit at all times.

Technically, I think it is passing the sign.

Except suburbs, where it's only 5 MPH over...

Eh, 5-8, but you're right. Never the normal full 10. That would just be reckless!

 

[Dags90]

Also to add - it usually applies to the road beginning at the sign until the next intersection/roundabout. Unless (at least in Poland) it's in a square sign, and not a round one, then it's a zone-wide limit, until you leave the zone and you see a canceled sign.

That's interesting, we have no such signs in the U.S.

Get this, in the UK if a speed limit sign is covered over by a hedge or whatever and you're doing over the limit youll still get fined because you should 'know' the limit. Speed limits aint always as bloody obvious as you might think either.

That seems excessively rigid. I mean, I think people should be accountable to certain reasonable standards (driving 50mph on residential streets is absolutely mad), but not strict limits without signage. There are also fairly large amounts of section which could be unsigned, and it's unreasonable to expect to put up signs for streets at every intersection.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I don't know about where you live, each state has different de jure and de facto rules. For example, in Texas, I do believe that you are actually not supposed to speed up until after passing the sign- according to the law as written. In practice, the police expect you to speed up as soon as the sign is at all visible, and to be going 10 miles over the speed limit at all times.

Technically, I think it is passing the sign.

Except suburbs, where it's only 5 MPH over...

Eh, 5-8, but you're right. Never the normal full 10. That would just be reckless!

Of course. Of course, they make it hard around here. My area is a notorious speed trap area. But the cops change their mind about whether you should follow the speed limit or exceed it randomly.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I don't know about where you live, each state has different de jure and de facto rules. For example, in Texas, I do believe that you are actually not supposed to speed up until after passing the sign- according to the law as written. In practice, the police expect you to speed up as soon as the sign is at all visible, and to be going 10 miles over the speed limit at all times.

Technically, I think it is passing the sign.

Except suburbs, where it's only 5 MPH over...

Eh, 5-8, but you're right. Never the normal full 10. That would just be reckless!

Of course. Of course, they make it hard around here. My area is a notorious speed trap area. But the cops change their mind about whether you should follow the speed limit or exceed it randomly.

I used to live in a small town where the cops had nothing better to do than pull over innocent people going 85 miles per hour down the interstate, but now that I live in a bigger city the cops don't so irrationally attempt to perform the jobs for which they are paid.