Speed Limits |
||||||
|
||||||
|
The basic rule that applies to all roads at all times is that no person shall drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions. Minn. Stat 169.14, subd.1. Drivers are to be aware of actual and potential hazards and their speed must be restricted as may be necessary to avoid a collision. Similarly, drivers are to reduce speeds when approaching stopped emergency vehicles, railroad crossings, curves, hills and when special hazards exist. Minn. Stat. 1619.14, subd, 3. Beyond these basic statements, the legislature has created some specific speed limits that apply to town roads. |
||||||
| A. Urban Districts | ||||||
| Speeds in an urban district are not to exceed 30 mph. Minn. Stat. 169.14, subd. 2(1). "Urban District" means the territory contiguous to and including any street which is built up with structures devoted to business, industry, or dwelling houses situated at intervals of less than 100 feet for a distance of a quarter mile or more." Minn. Stat. 169.01, subd. 59. | ||||||
| B. Rural Residential District | ||||||
| Speeds are not to exceed 30 mph on a town road in a rural residential district. Minn. Stat. 169.14, subd. 2(1). Before the adoption of this law, speed limits in rural platted areas that did not meet the definition of an urban district were often 55 mph. Even applying the provisions of the basic speed rule, the speeds experienced in these areas created many safety concerns. To address these concerns, the legislature created a 30 mph speed limit for town roads that are within rural residential districts. "Rural residential district" means the territory contiguous to and including any town road within a subdivision or plat of land that is built up with dwelling houses at intervals of less than 300 feet for a distance of one-quarter mile or more." Minn. Stat. 169.14, subd. 2(c). | ||||||
| C. Residential Roadways | ||||||
| Speeds may
not exceed 25 mph on roads designated by the road authority as a
residential roadway. Minn. Stat. 169.14,
subd. 2(7).
"'Residential roadway' means a street or portion of a street that is
less than one-half mile in length and is functionally classified as a
local street by the road authority having jurisdiction".
Minn
Stat 169.01, subd. 81.
The primary purpose of
this limit is to allow the local road authority some discretion in setting
speed limits where the needs arises on short segments of roads. For
example, there may be an area that receives heavy pedestrian traffic
crossing a road in a particular area. The local road authority could
designate the segment of road in that area as a residential roadway and
set the speed limit at 25 mph.
Unlike urban and rural residential districts , this speed limit does not apply unless the road authority (town board) takes action to designate the residential roadway and erects signs indicating the speed limit. |
||||||
| D. Non-Designated Areas | ||||||
| Speeds may not exceed 55 mph in locations that are not designated by law or a department of transportation speed study with a different limit. Minn. Stat. 169.14 subd. 2(3). This default speed limit is what applies to a majority of town roads. | ||||||
| E. Speed Study Established Limits | ||||||
| If a local
road authority believes a speed limit on one of its roads is greater or
lesser than is reasonable or safe under existing conditions, it may
request the department of transportation to conduct an engineering and
traffic investigation (speed study) to determine if a different speed
limit is appropriate. Minn.
Stat. 169.14, subd. 5.
These requests are usually made by resolution of the town board.
Speed studies are typically only conducted during the summer months when the weather is good and roads are dry. Once the department completes a study, it will certify a speed limit and authorize the road authority to erect signs for that limit. The new limit is effective upon the erection of the signs. If requesting a speed study on a road that has something less than a 55 mph limit, the road authority must keep in mind that if it is asking for the limit to be reduced, the study may actually conclude that the limit should be increased. Once a speed is established by a speed study, the speed may not be changed except as authorized by the department of transportation. The expressed exceptions to this rule are the authority of the local road authorities to set a school speed limit and to limit speeds to 30 mph in urban districts. Minn. Stat. 169.14, subd. 5a and 5b. |
||||||