Is 45 mph considered the absolute speed law?
An absolute speed limit is quite straight forward — if the posted limit is 40 mph, then that is the absolute limit. If you are going 45 mph, you are violating the absolute speed limit.
What is the statutory speed law?
California has a “Basic Speed Law” that states “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a 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 …
What is the key to basic speed law?
The Basic Speed Law states that you must never drive faster than is safe for present conditions, regardless of the posted speed limit.
What is excessive speed?
Excessive speed is where a driver exceeds the posted speed limit. Excessive speed is above the speed limit, while inappropriate speed is below the speed limit but still dangerous. Both inappropriate and excessive speed can cause loss-of-control accidents causing the driver to run off the road.
How much over the speed limit can you go to jail?
However if you exceed the speed limit by over 100 miles per hour, chances are that you will be arrested and sent to jail. But the police can exercise their discretion and arrest you even if you exceed the speed limit by 1 mile per hour.
Can you get a speeding ticket for going 45 mph?
If you are going 45 mph, you are violating the absolute speed limit. There are limited defenses for such a ticket, but some of them include: Speeding Because of an Emergency: The emergency must have made you speed in order to avoid serious injury to yourself or others.
Can a police officer ticket you for driving below the speed limit?
Police officers have discretion to ticket drivers for driving at or below a posted speed limit if the conditions make it unsafe. However, if you have been ticketed for driving at or below the posted speed limit, you will be afforded extra protections should you decide to challenge the ticket.
How is a person charged with violating the speed law?
The basic speed law theory states that you can be charged with speeding by violating the “basic” speed law, even if you were driving below the posted speed limit. An officer must simply decide that you were going faster than you should have been, considering the driving conditions at the time.
Is it illegal to drive over the posted speed limit?
If the law says it’s merely “prima facie unlawful” to exceed the posted speed limit, without reference to “maximum” limits, and it doesn’t flatly forbid driving at a speed over the limit, the speed limit is likely “presumed.” When you’re charged with exceeding a posted speed limit in an area where the limit is “absolute,” the law is simple.