Editing Speed limit (section)

=== Reasonable speed ===
Most legal systems expect drivers to drive at a safe speed for the conditions at hand, regardless of posted limits.

In the United Kingdom, and elsewhere in [[common law]], this is known as the '''[[reasonable man]]''' requirement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1991/ukpga_19910040_en_2#pt1-pb4-l1g6|title=Road Traffic Act 1991|quote=A person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally and without lawful authority or reasonable cause— (a) causes anything to be on or over a road, or (b) interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer or cycle, or (c) interferes (directly or indirectly) with traffic equipment, in such circumstances that it would be obvious to a reasonable person that to do so would be dangerous. (2) In subsection (1) above "dangerous" refers to danger either of injury to any person while on or near a road, or of serious damage to property on or near a road; and in determining for the purposes of that subsection what would be obvious to a reasonable person in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused.|access-date=2010-05-03|publisher=Office of Public Sector Information}}</ref>

The German Highway Code (''Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung'') section on speed begins with the statement (translated to English):<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvo_2013/__3.html|title=§ 3 StVO 2013 - Einzelnorm|website=www.gesetze-im-internet.de}}</ref>
<blockquote>Any person driving a vehicle may only drive so fast that the car is under control. Speeds must be adapted to the road, traffic, visibility and weather conditions as well as the personal skills and characteristics of the vehicle and load.</blockquote>

In France, the law clarifies that even if the speed is limited by law and by local authority, the driver assumes the responsibility to control a vehicle's speed, and to reduce that speed in various circumstances (such as when overtaking a pedestrian or bicycle, individually or in a group; when overtaking a stopped convoy; when passing a transportation vehicle loading or unloading people or children; when the road does not appear clear, or risky; when visibility is low, etc.).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGIARTI000037411312/2018-09-19/|title=Section 2 : Maîtrise de la vitesse. (Articles R413-17 à R413-19) - Légifrance|website=www.legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref> If drivers do not control their speed, or do not reduce it in such cases, they can be penalized. Other qualifying conditions include driving through fog, heavy rain, ice, snow, gravel,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090410123455.htm|title=On Gravel Roads, People Drive At Speed They Are Comfortable With, Regardless Of Posted Limit|access-date=2010-10-13|quote="We found that people are driving at speeds based on their perceptions and existing conditions – regardless of the speed limit," said Dissanayake, who also is a faculty member with [[Kansas State University|K-State]]'s University Transportation Center...when it came to speed limits, and the actual speeds are driven, the difference was not significant between {{cvt|35|mph}} and {{cvt|55|mph}} roads. An example is the gravel roadways in Johnson County and Miami County. The study found that though two-speed limits exist, the driving characteristics were the same. While Johnson County's speed limit is {{cvt|35|mph}} and posted, the average actual speed of {{cvt|37.5|mph}} was higher than the average actual speed of {{cvt|35.8|mph}} in Miami County, where the speed limit is {{cvt|55|mph}} and not posted.}}
</ref> or when drivers encounter sharp corners, a blinding glare,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/|title=Hatzakorzian v. Rucker-Fuller Desk Co., 197 Cal. 82|date=1925-09-21|publisher=Official California Reports, Vol. 197, p. 82 (California Supreme Court reporter)|quote="Under the circumstances of the present case – the narrowness of the unpaved portion of the highway, the darkness of the night and the '''blinding''' of Kennell by the '''glare of the lights''' reflected from the headlights of the approaching machine – the highway over which Kennell was traveling was beset by danger of an extraordinary character from the time his vision became so obscured as to make it impossible for him to see plainly the road before him to the time that he struck the deceased. Thus the ordinary care with which Kennell was charged in driving his car over the highway required such an amount of such care as was commensurate with the exactions of the extraordinary dangerous circumstances under which he was then operating his car. The respective rights and duties of drivers of automobiles and other vehicles and of pedestrians have repeatedly been by the courts of this state clearly pointed out..."}}</ref> darkness, crossing traffic,<ref>{{cite report|date=1950-11-14|section=Allin v. Snavely|section-url=http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp2d/100/411.html|title=Official California Appellate Reports|series=2nd Series Vol. 100|page=411|access-date=2013-07-27|quote="A driver by insisting on his lawful right of way may violate the basic speed law as provided by Veh. Code, § 22350, and thus become guilty of negligence." (CA Reports Headnote #[2])}}</ref> or when there is an obstructed view of orthogonal traffic—such as by road curvature, parked cars, vegetation, or snow banks—thus limiting the [[Assured Clear Distance Ahead]] (ACDA).<ref>{{cite report|section=Riggs v. Gasser Motors|section-url=http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp2d/22/636.html|date=1937-09-25|title=Official California Appellate Reports|series=2nd Series Vol. 22|page=636|access-date=2013-07-27|quote=It is common knowledge that intersecting streets in cities present a continuing hazard, the degree of hazard depending upon the extent of the use of the intersecting streets and the surrounding circumstances or conditions of each intersection. Under such circumstances, the basic [speed] law...is always governing.}} See [http://courts.ca.gov/opinions-slip.htm Official Reports Opinions Online]
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp2d/139/65.html|title=Leeper v. Nelson, 139 Cal. App. 2d 65|date=1956-02-06|publisher=Official California Appellate Reports (2nd Series Vol. 139, p. 65)|access-date=2013-07-27|quote=The operator of an automobile is bound to anticipate that he may meet persons or vehicles at any point of the street, and he must in order to avoid a charge of negligence, keep a proper lookout for them and keep his machine under such control as will enable him to avoid a collision with another automobile driven with care and caution as a reasonably prudent person would do under similar conditions.}} See [http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp2d/91/142.html Huetter v. Andrews, 91 Cal. App. 2d 142], [http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/ Berlin v. Violett, 129 Cal.App. 337], [http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/ Reaugh v. Cudahy Packing Co., 189 Cal. 335], and [http://courts.ca.gov/opinions-slip.htm Official Reports Opinions Online]
</ref>

In the United States, this requirement is referred to as the '''basic rule''',<ref name="www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811090.PDF|title=An Analysis of Speeding-Related Crashes:Definitions and the Effects of Road Environments|date=February 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration|access-date=2010-04-25|quote=Appendix: The basic rules governing the speed of vehicles in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.}}</ref> as outlined by US federal government law (49 CFR 392.14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/392.14|title=49 CFR 392.14 - Hazardous conditions; extreme caution.|website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref>), which applies in all states as permitted under the [[commerce clause]] and [[due process clause]].<ref name="Stanko">{{cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/mt-supreme-court/1110919.html|title=''State v. Stanko''|publisher=Supreme Court of Montana|year=1998}}</ref><ref name="CDLM">{{cite book|title=Commercial Driver License Manual 2005|chapter=Section 2 – Driving Safely|url=https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercial-drivers-license/commercial-drivers-license-manual|chapter-url=https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/2005%20CDL%20Driver%20Manual%20-July%202014%20-%20FINAL.pdf|pages=2-15, 2-19, 2-26, 13-1|date=July 2014|publisher=United States Department of Transportation|quote=[pg 2-15] ''' ''2.6.4 – Speed and Distance Ahead:'' ''' '''You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see ahead.''' Fog, rain, or other conditions may require that you slow down to be able to stop in the distance you can see. ... [pg 2-19] ''' ''2.8.3 – Drivers Who Are Hazards: Vehicles may be partly hidden by blind intersections or alleys.'' ''' If you only can see the rear or front end of a vehicle but not the driver, then he or she can't see you. Be alert because he/she may back out or enter into your lane. '''Always be prepared to stop.''' ... [pg 2-26] ''' ''2.11.4 – Vehicle Factors: Headlights.'' ''' At night your headlights will usually be the main source of light for you to see by and for others to see you. You can't see nearly as much with your headlights as you see in the daytime. With low beams, you can see ahead about 250 feet and with high beams about 350-500 feet. '''You must adjust your speed to keep your stopping distance within your sight distance.''' This means going slowly enough to be able to stop within the range of your headlights. ... [pg 13-1]''' ''13.1.2 – Intersections'' ''' As you approach an intersection: Check traffic thoroughly in all directions. '''Decelerate gently. Brake smoothly''' and, if necessary, change gears. If necessary, come to a complete stop (no coasting) behind any stop signs, signals, sidewalks, or stop lines maintaining a safe gap behind any vehicle in front of you. Your vehicle must not roll forward or backward. When driving through an intersection: Check traffic thoroughly in all directions. '''Decelerate ''and'' yield to any pedestrians and traffic in the intersection.''' Do not change lanes while proceeding through the intersection. Keep your hands on the wheel.}}</ref> The basic speed law is almost always supplemented by specific maximum or minimum limits but applies regardless. In California, for instance, Vehicle Code section 22350 states that "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at speed greater than is reasonable... and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22350.htm|title=California Vehicle Code section 22350: Basic Speed Law|quote=No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.|date=1963-09-20|access-date=2010-04-25|publisher=California Department of Motor Vehicles|archive-date=2010-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505015126/http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22350.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The reasonable speed may be different than the posted speed limit. ''Basic rule'' speed laws are statutory reinforcements of the centuries-old [[common law]] [[negligence]] doctrine as specifically applied to vehicular speed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/CACourts/|title=Reaugh v. Cudahy Packing Co., 189 Cal. 335|date=1922-07-27|publisher=Official California Reports, Vol. 189, p. 335, (California Supreme Court reporter)|access-date=2013-07-27|quote=This is but a reiteration of the rule, in statutory form, which has always been in force without regard to a statutory promulgation to the effect that drivers or operators of vehicles, and more particularly motor vehicles, must be specially watchful in anticipation of the presence of others at places where other vehicles are constantly passing, and where men, women, and children are liable to be crossing, such as corners at the intersections of streets or other similar places or situations where people are likely to fail to observe an approaching automobile.}}</ref> Citations for violations of the basic speed law without a crash<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pe.com/2015/08/13/temecula-inquiries-prompt-new-speed-survey/|title=TEMECULA: Inquiries prompt new speed survey|date=2015-08-13}}</ref> have sometimes been ruled unfairly vague or arbitrary, hence a violation of the [[due process clause|due process of law]], at least in the State of Montana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/mt-supreme-court/1110919.html|title=FindLaw's Supreme Court of Montana case and opinions|website=Findlaw}}</ref> Even within states, differing jurisdictions (counties and cities) choose to prosecute similar cases with differing approaches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vincenzeslaw.com/4-ways-virginia-reckless-driving-charges-handled-differently-fairfax-county-arlington-alexandria-stafford/|title=4 ways Virginia Reckless Driving charges are handled differently in Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria, and Stafford|last=Vincenzes|first=Brent|access-date=2015-04-21|archive-date=2015-04-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424000543/http://vincenzeslaw.com/4-ways-virginia-reckless-driving-charges-handled-differently-fairfax-county-arlington-alexandria-stafford/|url-status=dead}}</ref>