The Texas State Transportation code § 545.352 provides explicit details about the lawful speed limits for different types of roads. However, the following is a brief summation:
- Whenever you are inside a town or city, a lawful and safe speed is 30 MPH, but if you are in an alleyway, it drops to 25 MPH.
- After you get away from residential and urban areas on a numbered highway, the speed limit increases to 70 MPH.
- If it's an unnumbered highway outside of the perimeter of an urban district, the speed limit will typically be 60 MPH.
- Certain parts of Interstate 20 and 10 allow for even higher speeds, such as 80 MPH.
Municipal Speed Limits
While the previously mentioned speed limits are defaults, there are many instances where Texas speed limits are lower than these. The subsequent section of the Transportation Code allows cities and municipalities the ability to alter the speed limits based on the conditions of the area. Although these speed limits appear to be set arbitrarily, the limits are actually based on engineering and traffic studies required by the law. These studies must determine a speed that is both comfortable and safe for the majority of drivers. To arrive at these speed limits, engineers must determine the speed drivers travel on the road. Then they must set the speed limit 85% of the drivers are traveling at or below. If special hazards exist such as a high occurrence of accidents on a particular road stretch, hills, or curves, the speed limit can be set beneath the 85th percentile limit. Because of these various conditions, it's vital to always read the speed limit signs. At the same time, this tells you about the detail and intense considerations put into determining a reasonable speed for the road.
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