A state in the United States is changing its speed limit! Recently, it has been common to see some American states changing their traffic laws. The most recent one is North Dakota, which will start imposing fines to those who exceed the new speed limit. Driving through the most important roads of North Dakota won’t be the same.
Driving is always a topic of road safety concerns due to the many accidents this activity causes throughout the year. This is one of the main reasons for this new traffic law. What’s the new speed limit and the amount to pay when you are fined? Let’s see what North Dakota is trying to do on its roads.
Does this new traffic law affect every road in North Dakota?
Driving in the North Dakota state will be a new thing for drivers, since they will have to get used to a new speed limit number. So, let’s see if there’s much difference in comparison to before.
Is this traffic law applied to every road? Not really, the state will modify just the speed limit on the interstate highways because they are big roads where drivers go very fast. These roads are used a lot since they connect other states and, as a consequence, many buses, lorries and cars go through them.
Speed limit now and then
When you know the difference in speed limit between before the new traffic law and after, you might think it’s worthless, but it is not. There’s a studied reason for this change.
Drivers are used to driving 75 miles per hour (mph) on the interstate highways, but now the speed limit is increased to 80 mph.
I know what you are thinking, when will this start? The North Dakota state has announced the official date for the new speed, the 1st of August of this year.
What’s the reason behind this change?
North Dakota wants to follow the example of its nearby states, South Dakota and Montana, which have already started with the new 80 mph speed limit. So, does North Dakota just want to copy other states? Of course not, this regulation is deeper than that.
They want to make sure drivers don’t get confused when they go from one state to another, since it would be strange to go 80 mph in Montana and then, suddenly, change it to 75 mph in North Dakota.
Another reason is that many people are already used to going 80 mph even though the speed limit is lower. So, they are adapting to drivers’ convenience.
Concerns on this law
As every change, it has created some concerns in society because they believe the faster drivers go, the more accidents could be caused. Not only that, but also the level of gravity of those accidents. People who disagree on this speed increase have a point considering speed exceeding is one of the main causes of fatal accidents in the U.S.
Could drivers be fined?
Of course, they will! In order to avoid people’s concerns for this change to be real, drivers who exceed the speed limit will be fined. The amount that will be paid is $5 per mph that you go over on a 65 mph speed limit road. This is just one example of the fine amounts, so you’d better be careful.
Driving is something you should take very seriously, you are not only risking your life by going faster than you should, but also other drivers’. There’s no need to break laws, they are studied to ensure citizens’ safety. It is a good idea that you get informed about the different speed limits on the states you are planning to go to. Just remember, driving is not a game.