text: Freeway speed limits in urban areas can be as low as 45 or 50 mph in a few very short sections in downtown Kansas City and St. Louis, or as high as 65 mph in the outer portions of the St. Louis, Kansas City and St. Joseph areas. The Cape Girardeau and Joplin areas have no reduced freeway speed limits, and I-435 around Kansas City has a 70 mph limit from I-35 in Claycomo to the Kansas State Line around the northern and western part of the metro area.


title: Speed limits in the United States by jurisdiction

text: I-29 in Kansas City has a limit of 70 mph north of Barry Road in Platte County to south of Highway 169 in Buchanan County where the limit drops to 65 mph. North of Frederick Road in Buchanan County the limit returns to 70 mph until the Iowa state line.


text: As of October 1, 2015, the maximum speed limit in Montana is . On May 5, 2015, a bill to increase Montana's rural interstate highway speed limit from 75 to 80 mph was signed into law by Governor Steve Bullock.


text: In the years before the 1974 national 55 mph limit, and for three years after the 1995 repeal of the increased 65 mph limit, Montana had a non-numeric "reasonable and prudent" speed limit during the daytime on most rural roads. Montana Code Annotated (MCA) Section 61-8-303 said "A person ... shall drive the vehicle ... at a rate of speed no greater than is reasonable and proper under the conditions existing at the point of operation ... so as not to unduly or unreasonably endanger the life, limb, property, or other rights of a person entitled to the use of the street or highway."


text: Montana law also specified a few numeric limits: a night speed limit, usually , depending on road type; in urban districts and in construction zones.


text: The phrase "reasonable and prudent" is found in the language of most state speed laws. This allows prosecution under non-ideal conditions such as rain or snow when the speed limit would be imprudently fast.


text: On March 10, 1996, a Montana patrolman issued a speeding ticket to a driver traveling at on a stretch of State Highway 200. The 50‑year‑old driver (Rudy Stanko) was operating a 1996 Chevrolet Camaro with less than on the odometer. Although the officer gave no opinion as to what would have been a reasonable speed, the driver was convicted. The driver appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. The Court reversed the conviction in case No. 97–486 on December 23, 1998; it held that a law requiring drivers to drive at a non-numerical "reasonable and proper" speed "is so vague that it violates the Due Process Clause ... of the Montana Constitution".


text: Effective May 28, 1999, as a result of that decision, the Montana Legislature established a speed limit of .


text: Seven years later, a research study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a long-time advocate of the federal National Maximum Speed Law, showed Montana's 75 mph speed limit on rural Interstates was well received by motorists; traffic speed measurements taken by IIHS showed 76 percent of cars in compliance with 75 mph on those roads. IIHS also found large trucks subject to Montana's unchanged 65 mph speed limit for large trucks on rural Interstates slowed down dramatically, from a mean speed of 70 mph in 1996 to 65 mph in 2006, with the 85th percentile large truck speed dropping 11 mph, from 79 mph in 1996 to 68 mph in 2006.


text: Despite this reversal, Montana's then-governor, Marc Racicot, did not convene an emergency session of the legislature. Montana technically had no speed limit whatsoever until June 1999, after the Montana legislature met in regular session and enacted a new law. The law's practical effect was to require numeric speed limits on all roads and disallow any speed limit higher than .


text: Montana law still contains a section that says "a person shall operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner and at a reduced rate of speed no greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions existing at the point of operation, taking into account the amount and character of traffic, visibility, weather, and roadway conditions." However, this is a standard clause that appears in other state traffic codes and has the practical effect of requiring a speed lower than the speed limit where a lower speed is necessary to maintain a reasonable and prudent road manner.


text: Montana also has limited sections of night speed limits. Other speed limits in Montana are in a school zone, in a residential district, on boulevards, on traffic-light highways, on rural divided 4-lane highways, and on rural 2-lane undivided highways.


text: On May 10, 2019, Governor Steve Bullock signed HB 393 into law. This law raises the truck speed limit to at all times on rural freeways and at all times on other rural highways.


text: The maximum speed limit in Nebraska is 75 mph on rural Interstate highways. This speed limit only applies to Interstate 80 between Omaha and Lincoln, and west of Lincoln to the Wyoming state line, as well as the small section of Interstate 76 that enters the southwestern corner of the state from Colorado to join I-80. Freeways and expressways in urban areas are posted at 65 mph. The speed limit in rural areas of Nebraska is 65 mph unless otherwise posted, although rural divided highways and Super two highways are posted at 70 mph. The most recent change to Nebraska's speed limits was enacted on April 17, 2018, which resulted in all maximum speed limits in the state (except those for rural Interstate highways) being raised by five miles per hour.


text: The maximum speed limits in Nevada are on rural freeways, on other rural divided highways, on primary undivided roads, and on urban freeways.


text: Prior to the imposition of the speed limit in late 1973, Nevada also had a "reasonable and proper" speed Limit (non-numeric) on most of its rural highways, both freeway and others. The speed limit on certain two-lane highways is 70 mph including US 95 to the Oregon border (where the speed limit is 65 mph for trucks) and on certain sections of US 6 and 50 in the Nevada desert. Speed limits are 15 to 25 mph in school zones and 25 to 30 mph in residential districts. In 2015, the Nevada State Legislature voted to increase the statewide maximum speed limit to 80 mph to take effect in October of that year. However, between October 2015 and March 2017, no 80 mph speed limits were posted in the state.


text: On March 13, 2017, the Nevada DOT installed 80 mph speed limit signs on the 130-mile stretch of I-80 between Fernley and Winnemucca, excluding the Lovelock (exits 106 and 107) area.


text: On February 21, 2018, the Nevada DOT increased the speed limit on I-80 to 80 mph between Oasis and West Wendover.


text: In December 2018, the Nevada DOT increased the speed limit on more sections of I-80 to 80 mph. The sections are from Winnemucca to Battle Mountain and from Elko to Wells.


text: The highest speed limit in New Hampshire is . It can be found on Interstate 93 from mile marker 45 to the Vermont border (excluding the Franconia Notch Parkway). All other freeways and turnpikes have a maximum of . The minimum speed on Interstate Highways in New Hampshire is where posted.


text: Provided that no hazard exists that requires lower speed, the speed of any vehicle not in excess of the limit is deemed to be "prima facie" lawful. The limit for "rural residential districts" and Class V highways outside the city or town compact is . The limit for any "business or urban residence district" is . School zones receive a reduction in the limit 45 minutes before and after the beginning and end of a school day. The speed limit for a road work or construction area is lower than the normal speed limit, but not more than , when work is in progress. The speed limit for all other locations is . The minimum limit that a speed can be set in a rural or urban district is .


text: The speed limit on Interstate 93 through Franconia Notch State Park falls to where the highway narrows to one lane in each direction, but rises back to (in increments going south) once the highway leaves Franconia Notch. Interstate 393 in Concord has a posted speed limit for its entire length, with the exception of zones on the westbound portion closest to the city center and the end of the highway. Interstate 293's speed limit through downtown Manchester falls to as it runs along the Merrimack River, but increases to on either side of the city center.


text: Prior to 1974, the New Hampshire Turnpike, along with rural sections of Interstates 89 and 93, were posted at .


text: New Jersey's only statutory speed limits are 50 mph rural, 25 mph urban. Since the state is largely suburbanized, it ranges between 25 and 50 mph depending the jurisdiction of the road and whether the municipality is township, village, town, borough or city status.


text: The common limited access freeway speed limit is 65 mph. However, shorter length freeways such as US 202, Route 15, Route 90, and Route 33 remain at 55 mph. In all 65 mph speed zones, the fines for speeding and other moving violations are doubled. Signs informing drivers of this appear after most 65 mph signs. Urban freeway speed limits are generally 50 to 55 mph. However, some freeways in urban areas retain a 65 mph speed limit such as the main line of the New Jersey Turnpike up to Exit 13 (Interstate 278), I-80 from the Delaware Water Gap (Exit 4) to the Passaic River (Exit 53), I-295 in the Trenton area, and I-78 from the Delaware River to the Newark border (Exit 55). Only the New Jersey Turnpike system, including the Eastern and Western spurs, the Newark Extension (I-78), and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Extension (I-95) have variable speed limits on their entire respective lengths.


text: Four lane or greater state highways (often with a jersey divider or grass median) are generally posted at 50 to 55 mph (Such as Route 73 in southern Camden County, New Jersey, US 130 in industrial Pennsauken and Mercer County, US 30 in Atlantic County, and US 322 east of Williamstown). County four-lane highways and municipal maintained four-lane roads (with a jersey divider or grass median) are not posted above 50 mph.


text: Two-lane rural state highways and county maintained roads generally have 40 to 50 mph limits. The only two lane surface roads posted at 55 mph in New Jersey are County Route 539, Route 70, and Route 72 in the Pine Barrens of Ocean and Burlington Counties and Route 54 in Atlantic County. The Route 33 Freehold Bypass section where it is a super two freeway is also 55 mph.


text: Urban two lane roads in boroughs and cities are typically 25 mph or 35 mph. Residential streets at the municipal or county level are generally posted at 25 mph speed limits in boroughs and cities. However, they can be as high as 40 to 45 mph at the county level, less likely in municipal maintained roads. Generally, anything above 40 mph becomes uncommon. However, there are a handful of 45 mph residential stretches such as Terill Road in Scotch Plains and Woodbridge Avenue (CR 514) in Edison. All rural non posted roads have a speed limit of 50 mph, as per state law.


text: School zones through urban and suburban areas on two lane roadways normally have a speed limit of 25 mph when children are present. However, this limit can be as low as 20 mph and as high as 35 mph in some areas.


text: Speed limits for all classes of roads and areas are set by statute in New Mexico, meaning that any changes to the state's speed limits would require a bill to pass both chambers of the Legislature and be signed into law by the Governor (or overridden by the Legislature in the event of a Governor's veto). With the exception of wartime, New Mexico had no default numeric speed limit until the early 1950s. Prior to the national 55 mph limit in 1974, the speed limit on rural Interstates was 75 miles per hour during the day and 70 mph at night. Primary highways in open areas had daytime speed limits of 70 mph and nighttime ones of 60 mph. Secondary highways in open areas had daytime speed limits of 60 mph and nighttime ones of 50 mph. Before the end of federal speed controls, the maximum speed limit was 65 mph on Interstate routes and 55 mph elsewhere. In May 1996 legislation enacted by Governor Gary Johnson raised the absolute speed limit in New Mexico to 75 mph. Signs are posted on the vast majority of the mileage of Interstate routes to that effect. The default speed limit for any road where no speed limit is posted is 55 mph.


text: New Mexico has six major freeway facilities, which include three lengthy Interstate routes. Part of US-70 (as a divided highway) between Las Cruces and Alamogordo is one of only two sections of non-Interstate route as well as being the first road in New Mexico that's not a freeway to have the 75 mph limit; as of January 2019, US 285 between Roswell and Vaughn was raised to 75 mph as well. New Mexico, Nevada (US 95 south of US 93), and Texas are the only three states with 75 mph limits on roads that aren't freeways. There is no statutory requirement for reduced speeds on urban freeways so that, for example at Santa Fe and Las Vegas the speed limit remains 75 mph on I-25. New Mexico, Kansas, North Dakota, Colorado, and Texas are the only states to have a speed limit greater than 70 mph in urban highways. Nonetheless, there are 65 mph limits on freeways in more heavily urbanized areas such as Albuquerque and Las Cruces. Other reduced speed limits do exist, but the lowest speed limit under normal conditions on New Mexico's freeways is 55 mph, which can be found on two sections of Interstate 25: The first section being three miles from the Big I to Gibson Boulevard in Albuquerque, and the second being a short stretch near Raton Pass. These particular stretches of I-25 were originally built as relocations of US-85, whose design and construction predate the interstate highway era. As such, these stretches do not meet modern interstate highway standards, and have closely spaced interchanges, sharp curves, and/or limited sight distances.


text: By statute, other state maintained roads may have speed limits of up to 75 mph. Four-lane divided highways in open areas often have 65 mph limits, with some 70 mph limits, such as almost the entire length of US 550 from Bloomfield to Bernalillo, and a 23-mile stretch of US 70 west of Roswell.


text: Most primary two-lane highways without parking shoulders in open and mixed rural areas still have a 55 mph limit, but some have 60 mph limits.


text: A 65 mph left lane minimum speed limit is sometimes indicated on 75 mph roads with steep grades, "slower traffic keep right" is also in effect. On one-way roadways state law reserves the left and center lanes of two or more lanes for passing. There are reduced advisory speed limits for some roads during poor weather. Speeding fines are doubled in construction zones and designated safety corridors, with signs often stating this. There are no longer night speed limits, nor are there any differential speed limits for heavy trucks.


text: There are two other statutory speed limits in New Mexico that are often altered, especially on urban arterials or even city or countywide: thirty miles per hour in a "business or residence district" and fifteen miles per hour near schools at certain times. For example, in Albuquerque the default speed limit is thirty miles per hour as per state law, but many streets have a different speed limit. Some school zones there have twenty miles per hour speed limits. The city of Santa Fe's default speed limit is twenty five miles per hour. Although there are no signs to make drivers aware of the altered limit, the limit is signed on most roads where it applies. Los Alamos County alters the urban default and absolute speed limits to twenty five miles per hour and 50 mph respectively, but posts signs at county lines.


text: Outside of Bernalillo County, no points are assessed to one's license for speeding in rural areas in New Mexico, unless the excessive speed was a contributing factor to a traffic accident.


text: Speed limits are statutory (set by law) or regulatory (enacted by regulation), not necessarily by engineering standards. New York has a blanket statutory "Reasonable and Prudent" speed law.


text: The highest posted speed limit in New York is , found only on limited-access freeways (including some state highways, most of the New York State Thruway and select Interstate Highways). The default speed limit, posted as the "State Speed Limit", is 55 mph, which is in effect unless otherwise posted or in the absence of speed limit signs.


text: The New York State Department of Transportation sets speed limits in the vast majority of the state. Counties and most towns must petition DOT to change a speed limit. State law allows villages, cities, towns with more than 50,000 residents, and certain towns defined by law to be "suburban" to set speed limits on state, county, and local roads within their borders.


text: There is no state law regarding minimum speed limits, but a minimum speed limit of 40 mph has been set on the entire length of Interstate 787 and the entire length of Interstate 495 (the Long Island Expressway). The New York State Thruway does not have a firm minimum speed, but there are signs advising drivers to use their flashers when traveling at speeds below 40 mph.


text: New York does not have separate truck speed limits on its highways, except for the New England Thruway (Interstate 95), which has a limit of 50 mph for trucks and 55 mph for all other vehicles.


text: New York law allows area speed limits. An area speed limit applies to all highways within a specified area, except those specifically excluded. The area may be an entire municipality, or only a specific neighborhood. The defined area may also be the grounds of a school, hospital, or other institution. Area speed limits are signed at their perimeters with signs reading "Area Speed Limit" and the speed limit value shown below. "Area" may be replaced with a term that more precisely defines the area boundaries, such as "Town", "City", "Park", "Village" or "Campus".


text: Normally, the end of a lowered speed limit is marked with a sign reading "State Speed Limit 55", indicating that the statewide speed limit applies. In areas where a curve or other road condition makes the state speed limit inadvisable, a sign reading "End XX m.p.h. Limit" may be used, with XX replaced with the speed limit value. A "State Speed Limit 55" sign should be installed after the curve. This sign is sometimes misused in locations where the speed limit changes to a speed other than 55 mph. This is mainly applied on both undivided and divided rural non-freeway routes. Though rarely seen, some divided roadways are set as low as 45 mph but mainly stay at the state speed limit of 55 mph; in one exceptional case, that of the Scajaquada Expressway, the speed limit was lowered to 30 mph in 2016 after a fatality.


text: The top speed limit in most residential/urban and business district areas is at 30 mph, and state law prohibits speed limits below 25 mph on most common residential areas, though a speed limit of 25 is mainly only used in the New York City area and rarely seen outside of said area. However, School speed limits may be set as high as 30 mph to as low as 20 mph. New York City has established a number of 20 mph "Neighborhood Slow Zones" in residential neighborhoods. In residential neighborhood areas outside of New York City range between 30 and 40 mph and 35–45 mph on suburban/urban arterial routes.


text: New York's Criminal Procedure Law prevents law enforcement personnel from issuing a ticket for any offense that they did not witness personally, meaning that, among other ramifications, the state's electronic toll collection system can not be used for speed enforcement.


text: Many expressways and parkways in the New York City suburbs were posted as high as 65 mph in the early 1970s. During the 1973 Oil Embargo, New York lowered its speed limit to 50. The National Maximum Speed Law brought statewide speed limits up to 55. The city of New York, being a city, retained the 50 mph speed limit. New York restored its 65 mph speed limit in late 1995, soon before the NMSL was repealed.


text: Until September 2003, the state legislature needed to approve individual 65 mph zones, a lengthy process taking months or years of politically motivated debate. Then-Governor George Pataki signed legislation in September 2003 that enables NYSDOT and New York State Thruway Authority to raise speed limits to 65 mph on its roads that meet established design and safety standards. This legislation became active in March 2004, and the speed limit was subsequently raised to 65 mph on NY Route 7 (locally known as "Alternate Route 7"), Interstate 684 and Interstate 84 east of the Hudson River in New York.


text: The highest maximum speed limit allowed in NC is if determined to be "safe and reasonable" by NCDOT engineering studies.


text: This generally applies to non-freeway primary and secondary roads throughout the state. Prior to the National Maximum Speed Law that went into effect nationwide, North Carolina used to have 60 mph speed limits on two-lane primary and secondary roads. Warning signs are posted in all cases where the speed limit drops on a road. In addition, a "reduce speed ahead" sign is commonly posted on major highways, though it is being phased out.


text: It is rare that NCDOT will assign a speed drop greater than 20 mph. In Bertie County, the US 17 bypass in Windsor drops from 70 mph to 45 mph. In Moore County, Shady Lane Road outside of Carthage in the Hillcrest community drops from 55 mph to 30 mph. In Ocracoke, the speed limit on NC 12 southbound drops from 55 mph to 20 mph.


text: Although not statutory, it is relatively common to encounter speed limits. Many suburban 2- and 4-lane roads, as well as most 4-lane roads within municipal limits, carry a 45 mph speed limit. 45 mph speed limits are also not uncommon in more densely populated rural areas. Subdivision and residential streets generally, though not always carry a speed limit. However, when signs are not present, the speed limit is still 35 mph by default. In downtown areas, it's common to encounter 20 mph speed limits, although those are not statutory at the state level, and are typically controlled by the municipality the area is within. These speed limits are generally considered to be grandfathered in, per a policy from NCDOT stating new speed limits below 25 mph "will generally not be approved." Many arterial roads near the city limits are posted at , but otherwise 50 mph is not commonly posted. There is one interstate posted at 50 mph, I-277 in downtown Charlotte. This is the lowest speed limit on any interstate in North Carolina.


text: School zone speed limits generally entail a 10 to 20 mph reduction below the original speed limit during times of day used for school arrivals and departures. Such a speed limit would be indicated when entering the school zone. Also, the default or modified speed limit is indicated after leaving the school zone. A school zone speed limit cannot be less than 20 mph.


text: Military bases are generally posted at a maximum of 50 mph. As of May 2010, Fort Bragg military two-lane roadways are now posted at 55 mph instead of 50 mph. Prior to May 2010, the speed limits higher than 50 mph through military bases were only on N.C. Highway 690 along the north side of Fort Bragg, Murchison Road (also known as N.C. Highway 210) and the All American Freeway (which is classified and numbered as a state-maintained Secondary Road even though it is a freeway).


text: The state park speed limit is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. These are not limited to places such as Hanging Rock State Park and Mount Mitchell State Park. The Blue Ridge Parkway is 45 mph. However, there are occasional 35 mph stretches. The National Park Service is responsible for highway maintenance and speed enforcement on the Parkway.


text: The county governments of North Carolina do not have any control over speed limits or any other aspect of road operation, as there are no county roads in the state. Municipalities, on the other hand, can set speed limits on city-controlled roadways, subject to applicable state laws. Freeways and expressways with no primary route number are part of the Secondary Road system and bear route numbers of 1000 or greater. Their maximum posted speed limit is 55 mph with four exceptions.


text: A speed limit of is relatively common on Interstates and non-Interstate freeways in much of rural North Carolina, especially in the eastern portion of the state. 70 mph speed limits are also relatively common on rural freeways in central North Carolina, but rare in the mountainous western region. The following are the highways that currently hold a 70 mph speed limit:


text: North Carolina posts many of its freeways at , especially in urban areas and in the central and western portions of the state. A 65 mph speed limit can be found on these interstates:


text: 65 mph is posted on many short sections of non interstate freeway, especially in the central and western regions of the state. Long stretches of non interstate highway posted at 65 mph are only found on US 421 and US 52 in central NC.


text: There are some interstate and US highway freeways with a speed limit, generally in urban or mountainous regions.


text: Only two Secondary Road freeways in the state have a 60 mph speed limit: Wade Avenue Extension, which is in Raleigh and unincorporated Wake County; and Aviation Parkway, in the segment running from south of Globe Road to Airport Boulevard, traversing parts of Cary and unincorporated Wake County.


text: 60 mph speed limits along non-freeway segments are growing in popularity and have replaced 55 mph limits on several non freeway divided highways throughout the state. Most of divided highways with traffic lights are posted at 55 mph, but there are a few stretches posted at 60 mph, such as segments of US 17, NC 11, NC 148, and US 421.


text: Previously, the entire US 220 alignment from NC 68 to the Virginia state line was 60 mph but went back to 55 mph between NC 68 and NC 704.


text: The only Secondary Road expressway in the state that has a 60 mph speed limit is the US 117 Connector in Sampson and Duplin Counties between US 117 and I-40 (The designation in Sampson County leaving I-40 towards Duplin County is SR 1783/Connector Road)


text: There is a default minimum speed limit on Interstate and primary highways of , but only when signs are present. The only roadway in North Carolina currently with a minimum speed limit is the I-77 Express Lanes, with a minimum of 45 mph. Generally there is no minimum on interstates to allow for slow moving farm equipment.


text: Highways do not generally have separate truck speed limits in North Carolina. There are a few exceptions however, such as I-40 from Old Fort to Black Mountain (35 mph) and from Hendersonville to the Tennessee state line (50 mph) These limits are in place due to dangerous mountain curves and grades.


text: North Carolina operates a Safe Driving Incentive Plan (SDIP), a program that leads to insurance surcharges for moving violations based on a point system. In general, for speeding violations less than 10 mph over the posted speed limit in a speed zone less than 55 mph, one point is assessed; two points are assessed for exceeding 10 mph over the limit or speeding in a zone with a speed limit of greater than 55 mph.


text: A driver's license will be suspended for traveling faster than 15 mph over the speed limit, provided the speed traveled is greater than 55 mph; suspensions can result for other speeding infractions, such as traveling faster than 75 mph in a 65 mph or less zone or faster than 80 mph in a 70 mph zone. North Carolina law makes exceeding 80 mph anywhere in the state (regardless of the posted speed limit) a Class 3 Misdemeanor, as well as exceeding 15 mph over the posted speed limit.


text: In 2013, the North Carolina Senate passed a bill to explore raising the speed limit on certain low volume freeways to . The bill would have given the DOT permission to raise the speed limit on freeways deemed safe for 75 mph travel. However, the House defeated the bill, and no efforts have been made to raise them since.


text: North Dakota's major interstates, I-29 and I-94, have a 75 mph speed limit in most rural areas, with 55-75 mph zones within portions of the Fargo and Bismarck/Mandan urban areas (I-29 in Grand Forks is signed at 75 mph). The state's 4 lane Divided Highways as well as 2 short stretches of undivided 4 lane highways (US 2 around Rugby and U.S. 83 as it passes the eastern Lake Sakakawea Reservoir) usually carry a 70 mph limit, with 2 lane restricted to up to a 65 mph limit, and gravel roads have up to 55 mph limits. Roads within cities hold their own defined limits with 25 mph speed limits common in residential streets and 25-40 mph limits on urban 4-6 lane divided and undivided streets, with school zones at 15–25 mph.


text: The maximum speed limit found on highways in Ohio is on the Ohio Turnpike, Rural Freeways, and both the Expressway and Freeway portions of US 30 from Mansfield, Ohio to the Indiana State Line and US 33 from Wapakoneta to St. Mary's Ohio. The speed limit ranges from to on other divided highways. A small portion of the westbound lane (less than 500 feet) of State Route 16 in Licking County is signed at 70 MPH slightly before the route upgrades from a two-lane non-divided to a four-lane divided highway, but otherwise, no non-divided highway in the state currently has a speed limit higher than , though ODOT is now permitted to increase undivided roads to .


text: Ohio is the only state east of the Mississippi River to allow 70 mph speed limits on non freeway roads. Both divided and non divided roads qualify.


text: Ohio has an urban speed limit of on Interstates by state law, yet many urban areas have lower speed limits due to safety concerns found in speed studies. These commonly are in the 50–60 mph range. For instance, in most of metro Dayton and Cincinnati, as well as in downtown Columbus, the speed limit is , while in Cleveland, Toledo, and Akron the speed limit is ; however, in central Cleveland along the Inner Belt, the speed limit is . On one case, however, the Ohio Turnpike has a limit in the outer suburbs of Toledo, Akron, and Cleveland. Some urban areas are also posted with minimum speed limits, usually with a minimum of 40 or 45. At one time, portions of Interstate 76 and Interstate 77 in downtown Akron had a maximum speed limit of 50 mph and a minimum speed limit of 35 mph.


text: School zones in Ohio normally have a 20 mph speed limit, regardless of the road's normal speed limit, in effect during school hours.


text: In Oklahoma, the maximum posted speed limit is 75–80 miles per hour on turnpikes and 70-75 mph on all other freeways. Most other rural highways, divided or undivided, have a 65 mph speed limit (although some rural divided highways have a 70 mph limit). Rural sections of freeway or turnpike are supplemented with a sign warning "no tolerance". Also, rural four-lane turnpikes carry a minimum speed limit of is 60 mph. On May 9, 2016, Governor Fallin signed HB 3167 which removes numerical caps on rural highway speed limits in Oklahoma which took effect in November 2016. Even with this bill the speed limits across the state were not expected to change because of budget issues in doing studies In April 2019, a new bill was signed into law that raised the limit to 80 mph on turnpikes and 75 on other freeways.


text: On July 28, 2020, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority approved raising posted speed limits to 80 mph on 104 miles of turnpikes:


text: Existing speed limits on rural turnpikes like the Will Rogers Turnpike, main segment of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, Cimarron Turnpike and Chickasaw Turnpike will not be changed as part of this action.


text: On August 3, 2020, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved increasing the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph on nearly 400 miles of I-35 and I-40. The sections on I-35 are from the Texas border to the OK 74 overpass south of Purcell and from just north of the Oklahoma/Logan County line to the Kansas border. On I-40, the speed limit will be increased from just west of Sallisaw to just east of Shawnee, from just west of Yukon to just east of Weatherford, from Clinton to just east of Elk City and from just west of the junction with OK 34 to the Texas border.


text: The highest posted speed limit in Oregon is 70 mph on I-84 east of The Dalles, I-82 and US 95 (trucks 65 mph). Oregon state statutes allow for a maximum speed limit of 70 mph on rural interstate highways, and the law gives the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) discretion to define which freeway segments to post the 70 mph speed limit. ODOT did not raise speed limits beyond 65 mph on other freeways, and strongly opposed legislative efforts to raise the maximum allowable speed limit. However, in July 2015, Governor Kate Brown signed a bill raising speed limits on several highways in eastern Oregon; the bill included provisions to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on I-84 and US 95. It was announced on October 6, 2017, that the truck speed limit will be increasing to 60 mph on rural interstate highways where the car speed limit is 65 mph as soon as new signs are posted. In all rural areas in Oregon, the speed limit is 55 unless otherwise posted.


text: Until 2002, Oregon state law required that all speed limit signs omit the word LIMIT from their display. The reasoning behind this was related to the explicit "basic speed" law that existed, which allowed citation for exceeding speeds "too fast for conditions" regardless of the posted speed. The typeface of the numerals on the signs varies greatly depending on which jurisdiction made the sign, due to its non-standardized design. In 2002, the Oregon Department of Transportation revised its supplement to the MUTCD, mandating the omission of the word LIMIT "except" on signs posted on Interstate highways and within city limits. As of 2014, ODOT has replaced nearly all SPEED signs posted on Interstates with SPEED LIMIT signs, but it was left to the various city governments to replace signs in their jurisdictions at their leisure, if at all. Thus, older SPEED signs are still a common sight across the state.


text: In 2003, the Oregon state legislature passed a bill that would have raised the maximum permissible speed limit on Interstate Highways to 70 mph for cars with a 5 mph differential for trucks, up from the previous 65 mph limit for cars with a 10 mph differential; this bill was signed into law by then newly elected Governor Ted Kulongoski on September 26, 2003. Although ODOT's 2004 study revealed that it is safe for cars to be traveling at 70 mph and trucks at 60 mph the Oregon Department of Transportation decided to not initially implement the increase out of concerns that it would not be safe to have trucks traveling at 65 mph. Prior to the National Maximum Speed Law, the speed limit on Oregon freeways was 75 mph with some 70 limits on two-lane roads in eastern portions of the state. On July 20, 2015, Governor Brown signed HB 3402 into law. This bill raises the speed limit on I-84 east of The Dalles, I-82 (HB 4047 signed 2/23/16) and US 95 to 70 mph for cars and 65 mph for trucks. It also increases speed limits on several other two lane rural highways to 65 mph for cars and 60 mph for trucks in Eastern Oregon. The law took effect on March 1, 2016.


text: In 2004, a law was passed revising Oregon's school speed limit laws. In school zones, on roads with speed limits of 30 mph or below, drivers were required to slow to 20 mph 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, regardless of whether or not children were present. This replaced most 'when children are present' placards. If the speed limit was 35 mph or higher, the school zone limit would be imposed either by flashing yellow lights or a placard denoting times and days of the week when the limit was in effect. The at-all-times rule was highly unpopular with motorists and was widely ignored. In 2006, the law was revised again, taking away the 'at all times' requirement and replacing it with a time-of-day system (usually school days, 7 a.m. to 5 pm). School crossings with flashing yellow lights remain. In many communities, school zones are strictly enforced and speed traps in these areas are commonly employed.


text: ODOT has not chosen a variation of speed between two-lane roads in Oregon, regardless of the terrain. Any rural two-lane road in the state has a default speed limit of 55 mph. Town speed limits are 20 mph in an alley, 20 mph in a school zone, 35 mph on boulevards, and 45 mph on roads with traffic lights.


text: In Pennsylvania the maximum freeway speed limit is generally , with select sections of rural freeway and most of the Pennsylvania Turnpike signed at , or such as most of standalone Interstate 70. The speed limit on urban freeways ranges from a low of 40 mph in downtown Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to a high of 70 mph on the Pennsylvania Turnpike around outer parts of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.


text: In 1940, when the Pennsylvania Turnpike was opened between Irwin and Carlisle, the entire 160 mile limited-access toll road did not have a speed limit, similar to that of the German Autobahns. In 1941, a speed limit of was established, only to be reduced to during the war years (1942–45). After WWII, the limit was raised to 70 mph on the four-lane sections, with the two-lane tunnels posted at for cars and for trucks. Prior to the 1974 federal speed limit law, all Interstates and the Turnpike had a speed limit on rural stretches and a speed limit in urban areas.


text: In 1995, the state raised the speed limit on rural stretches of Interstate Highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike system to , with urban areas having a limit. In 1997, PennDOT raised the speed limit on some rural non-Interstate Highway bypasses to . In 2005, with the change in the designation of "urban zones" in the state, the entire lengths of both the Pennsylvania Turnpike's east–west mainline and Northeast Extension were given limits, except at the tunnels and through the winding eastern approach to the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel.


text: The 70 mph speed limit was authorized by House Bill 1060, which was signed by Governor Tom Corbett on November 25, 2013. On July 18, 2014, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced the return of the 70 mph speed limit on a 97-mile stretch of the mainline from the Blue Mountain interchange (MP 201) to the Morgantown interchange (MP 298). Signs were erected on July 22, 2014. On July 23, 2014, PennDOT announced the speed limit will be increased to 70 mph on I-80 between interchange 101 in DuBois, Clearfield County and milepost 189 in Clinton County and on I-380 between interchange 8 (MP 10) near Mount Pocono, Monroe County and the junction with I-84 in Lackawanna County, on or around August 11, 2014, as a pilot project. On March 15, 2016, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved raising the speed limit on the remaining sections of the turnpike to ; sections that were posted at would retain that speed limit. A total of of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system increased from , including the extensions in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The speed limit remains within construction zones and tunnels, at mainline toll plazas, on the eastern approach of the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel, and between Bensalem and the Delaware River Bridge. On May 2, 2016, PennDOT announced that the speed limit would be increased to on about of roadway across the state, including rural stretches of I-79, I-80, I-99, I-380, and US 15, with conversion to take place on May 3.


text: On non-freeway roads, speed limits are generally held at for rural four-lane roads, for rural two-lane roads, for urban four lane roads and 40–45 (sometimes, but rarely, 50 mph) mph (64–72 km/h) for urban two lane roads, 35–45 mph for roads in commercial business areas, 30 for major roads in residential areas, 20 for most municipal residential streets, including main north–south and east–west roads in county seats and other mid-sized to large towns, and 15 for school zones during school arrival and departure times only. It is also only in effect on days that the school the road goes near is in session. Many schools have signs that blink when the school speed limit is in effect. There is no reduced school speed on divided highways, even if the school sits right beside the highway.


text: All state-owned two-lane roads in rural areas within Pennsylvania have a default speed limit of 55 mph unless otherwise posted.


text: The Pennsylvania Turnpike has a minimum speed limit of 15 mph below the posted maximum speed, though the minimum is only sporadically posted. This is not enforced for slow-moving trucks in areas with steep grades and signs are posted that instruct drivers to use their flashers if traveling below 50 mph (40 if the speed limit is 55). Pennsylvania has no default minimum speed limit on any other roads. However, minimum speed limits on certain highways may be enacted and posted as provided by Section 3364(c) of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code (Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes).


text: §3364(a) also requires, "Except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, whenever any person drives a vehicle upon a roadway having width for not more than one lane of traffic in each direction at less than the maximum posted speed and at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the driver shall, at the first opportunity when and where it is reasonable and safe to do so and after giving appropriate signal, drive completely off the roadway and onto the berm or shoulder of the highway. The driver may return to the roadway after giving appropriate signal only when the movement can be made in safety and so as not to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic."


text: Drivers cannot be stopped by police for driving less than 6 mph over the posted speed limit (10 mph if the speed limit is less than 55 mph and non-radar timing devices are used, as use of radar devices is limited to "members of the Pennsylvania State Police" by §3368c2).


text: In October 2018, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law a bill authorizing the use of speed cameras in active construction zones on Interstate highways.


text: Most freeways can have speed limits up to , while other expressways have speed limits up to 55 mph. The rural default speed limit is 45 mph but may be increased to . In residential areas, only multilane roads have limits up to , other roads are restricted to a maximum speed of . Only urban and rural school zones have limits up to . Vehicles carrying hazardous materials are limited to in urban and rural areas.


text: Along two-lane roadways, the default speed limit is during the daytime outside a business or residential district. "Daytime" means a half-hour before sunset and a half-hour after sunrise. At night time and also uncommon on the East Coast, the default speed limit is outside a business or residential district. Through the CBD and residential district, the default speed limit is . Through school zones within , the default speed limit is . Local governments are barred from raising the default speed limits during the day and at night. Rural Interstates are generally posted at but closer to Providence. Divided arterials and freeways other than Interstate are posted no higher than 55 mph. On April 12, 1996, speed limit of 65 mph allowed on rural interstates based on engineering studies. However, the only interstates raised to 65 mph are Interstate 95 from exits 1-9 and Interstate 295.


text: Interstate speed limits in South Carolina are posted at . Interstates passing through "Urban" areas are dropped to . The urban area assignment of 60 mph usually includes the metropolitan area and the actual inner city area. The only exceptions to the rule are I-385 in Greenville, I-85 in Spartanburg, the SC 31 freeway around Myrtle Beach and I-95 around Florence. I-385 has a 55 mph speed limit at its terminus within the Greenville area. SC 31 is posted at even though it is in the greater Myrtle Beach area. SC 31 was originally posted at 60 mph when it was built in 2004. I-95 even as a 6 lane semi-urban built freeway, maintains a 70 mph speed limit through the Florence area (as of June 2013, from just south of exit 160 to just south of exit 164, the speed limit has been reduced to 60 mph, a textbook speed trap). It is 6 lanes from SC 327 to I-20.


text: Four-lane arterials by default are posted at . Four-lane bypasses at 60 mph can be found in Marion and Sumter, but others remain at . It is not uncommon that 55 mph can be expected in more built-up areas prior to municipalities and/or if the engineering on the highway is below standards. However, U.S. Route 123 has a divided segment where the speed limit is .


text: Two-lane roads are 55 mph by default. However, a handful of counties maintained as either state secondary roads or county roads are posted at .


text: Central business districts (CBDs) are posted at . A recent trend is occurring with CBD speed limits that they are being signed at in random municipalities around the state.


text: Speed limit drops generally are done in 10 mph increments but 20 mph drops are not uncommon. Improvements in the mid-2000s were done by SCDOT to warn motorists ahead of time for speed drops on various roadways. However, there are still some roadways that have not received that treatment. However, there are a couple roadways that get 25 mph to 30 mph drops as well. The speed limit drops from to at a traffic circle with US 378 and SC 391 in eastern Saluda County. On US 52 northbound approaching Kingstree, the speed limit drops from to .


text: Shortly after the December 1995 repeal of the 65/55 mph National Maximum Speed Law, South Dakota raised its general rural speed limits to on freeways and on other roads along with on a few 4 lane divided highways. Almost a decade after posting the 75 mph limit, average speeds on South Dakotan rural freeways remain at or below the speed limit. In the urban areas of Sioux Falls and Rapid City, a 65 mph speed limit is posted on Interstates 90 and 29. In March 2015, SD State Legislature has passed the bill to raise the speed limit on Interstate 29 and Interstate 90 to . It was signed into law and took effect in April 2015. While the 80 mph speed limit was initially signed on all rural freeways in the state, the Interstate 90 stretch from Rapid City to the Wyoming Border returned to 75 mph due to safety concerns.


text: Tennessee statutes require rural interstates to be posted at exactly unless a traffic study is performed indicating that such a speed is unsafe. These include all of the state's two-digit Interstates except Interstate 55 and Interstate 26, whose highest posted speed limits for passenger vehicles in Tennessee is . The only auxiliary interstates in Tennessee with a 70 mph speed limit are Interstate 155, Interstate 269, and Interstate 840. 70 mph speed limits are required on other controlled access highways that are part of the State or Federal Highway Systems unless a traffic study indicates this speed is unsafe. Any other controlled access road in the state may be posted up to 70 mph, but this is not a legal requirement, and a study is not required to be performed before this is done. Examples of 70 mph limits are found on controlled-access portions of US 51 and SR 22, SR 111, SR 386, and SR 396. In 70 mph zones, the default minimum speed limit is 55. Urban interstates are generally posted at 55 to 65 mph, however, portions of Interstates 24, 40, and 65 and S.R. 386 in Nashville, as well as I-24 in Clarksville and Murfreesboro are posted at 70 mph.


text: Four-lane divided highways in rural areas are normally posted at the statutory , although some are posted at and . It is a common misconception that undivided highways may only be posted up to in Tennessee. Though a vast majority of undivided highways have, at most, posted 55 mph speed limits, Tennessee's statutory speed limits do not differentiate between divided and undivided highways, per TN Code § 55-8-152(a) (2018), so the statutory limit of usually applies to undivided highways in the absence of signage or local ordinances to the contrary. Notable examples of 65 mph undivided highways are multiple stretches SR 22 surrounding the town of Dresden, where the road has two lanes in each direction (four lanes total), sometimes containing a central dual turn lane. U.S. Route 412 also contains a 60 mph four-lane undivided highway between Columbia and Hohenwald.


text: Speed limits set by municipalities could range from 15 to 55 mph, depending on the type of roadway. This is because the state of Tennessee grants strong home rule powers to municipalities and Dillon's Rule for unincorporated areas in the county for speed limit assignments on non-controlled access state-maintained roads, requiring that they fall within established constraints. Out of Tennessee's of public road, a vast majority of are maintained by localities.


text: In the 2000s, the major cities of Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga petitioned TDOT to enact environmental speed limits in their respective counties after failing to meet EPA air quality standards, reducing speed limits from 70 mph to 65 mph and 55 mph for trucks. Knox County (Knoxville) also petitioned the state to enact these speed limits in all of the neighboring counties of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, as well as Jefferson County. These moves were controversial, as people believed the actual purpose was to increase revenue from speeding tickets, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) reportedly started enforcing these as 70 mph zones in the Knoxville area after multiple truckers successfully won court cases and had their tickets dismissed. In 2018, these split speed limits on I-75 and I-40 in Roane and Loudon counties southwest of Knoxville were increased back to 70. On February 19, 2019, 70 mph speed limit signs were installed on I-40 and I-81 east of Knox County starting at exit 398, and in October 2019, the last of these split speed limits were increased to 70 mph on I-40 east of Knoxville and to 65 mph west of Knoxville with no separate restrictions for trucks. In Nashville, speed limits for freeways are posted at 55 mph at the center of the city, and 65 and 70 mph beyond, with no separate restrictions for trucks. I-26 and I-81 in Kingsport, Bristol, and Johnson City continue with the staggered limits.


text: Prior to 1974, the maximum speed limit on Tennessee's Interstate highways was day or night for cars and day or night for trucks. Other rural highways had a maximum speed limit of 65 mph day and night for divided highways and 55 mph for all other highways. Many of these other class roadways also had separate day and night speed limits as well.


text: Texas is the only state that does not prescribe a different speed limit for each road type in its state or federal highway system. Texas law generally prescribes a statutory speed limit of for any rural road that is numbered by the state or federal government (United States Numbered Highways and Interstate Highways)—whether two lane, four lane, freeway, or otherwise— for roads outside an urban district that are not federal or state highways, and for streets in an urban district.


text: The law allows raising or lowering the statutory limit only if an engineering and traffic investigation indicates that a different limit is appropriate. Texas allows a speed limit of up to to be posted on federal or state highways, city maintained roads, and toll roads, and up to on county roads. Through a separate provision, speed limits up to or can be established on certain highways.


text: The truck speed limit used to be day/ night when the regular limit was higher. This speed limit did not apply to buses or to trucks transporting United States Postal Service mail.


text: Truck speed limits disappeared when all speed limits were capped at in 1974. They reappeared with the introduction of limits in 1987.


text: Effective September 1, 1999, Texas repealed truck speed limits on all roads except farm to market and ranch to market roads.


text: In 2001, a bill allowing 75 mph speed limit on roads in certain counties excluded trucks, introducing a 70 mph truck speed limit on roads with a higher limit. A bill in 2005 allowing 80 mph speed limits still excluded trucks. However, truck speed limits were fully repealed in 2011.


text: Before September 1, 2011, Texas had a statutory night speed limit on all roads with a higher daytime limit. In 2011, the Texas Legislature banned night speed limits effective September 1, 2011. However, as of June 2013, night speed limits (55) were retained on some county roads where the speed limit is 60 mph in Scurry County, just outside of Snyder, Texas.


text: Texas is the first state to lower speed limits for air quality reasons, although the lowered limits may not meaningfully improve air quality.


text: In roughly a radius of the Houston–Galveston and Dallas–Ft. Worth regions, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality convinced the Texas Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit on all roads with speed limits by 5 mph. This was instituted as part of a plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in areas out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act.


text: Initial studies found that lower speed limits could provide roughly 1.5% of the emissions reductions required for Clean Air Act compliance. However, follow-up studies found that the actual reduction is far less:


text: With both of these facts combined, it is possible that the speed limit reductions only provide a thousandth of the total emissions reductions necessary for Clean Air Act compliance.


text: In mid-2002, all speed limits in the Houston–Galveston area were capped at . Facing immense opposition, poor compliance, and the finding that lowered speed limits produced only a fraction of the originally estimated emissions reductions, the TCEQ relented and reverted to the 5 mph reduction scheme.


text: Due to its enormous unpopularity, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality examined alternatives to the 55 mph speed cap. Analysis suggested that the vast majority of emissions reductions were from reduced heavy truck emissions. A proposed alternative was to restore passenger vehicle limits but retain a 55 mph truck speed limit. Concerns about safety problems and enforceability of such a large differential (up to 15 mph on many roads) scuttled that proposal, and a compromise plan, described above, was enacted that retained uniform, but still reduced, speed limits.


text: In 2003, the Texas Legislature prospectively banned environmental speed limits, effective September 1, 2003. The wording of the bill allows environmental speed limits already in place to remain, but no new miles of roadway may be subjected to environmental speed limits.


text: In 2009, the North Texas Tollway Authority raised the speed limit by 10 mph on two tollways. Several miles of these tollways had 60 mph environmental speed limits. These new 70 mph limits exceeded what is allowable under the environmental speed limit regime. NTTA was allowed to raise the speed limits by offsetting the higher limits' theoretical emissions increases with other transportation-related emissions reduction measures, including implementation of all-electronic tolling, which eliminated the need for some vehicles to stop at a toll booth.


text: In 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation cancelled all remaining environmental speed limits in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Some speed limits were changed back to those in place before the environmental speed limits were enacted. On some roads the speed limit was not changed. On other roads, including some that never had environmental speed limits, speed limits were raised higher than they were before the environmental speed limits were enacted.


text: Because Texas law allows speed limits on any numbered state highway, city maintained road, or tollway, it is the only state with 75 mph limits on two-lane roads. Speed studies undertaken by TxDOT in response to legislation passed in 2011 took about 2 years, and the result is that the mileage of highway with a speed limit of 75 mph has increased from about 1,400 to about 19,000. 70 mph or lower speed limits have become unusual on rural Texas roads. Also, there are multiple urban Interstates and tollways in Texas where there is a 75 mph speed limit, such as I-20 in Odessa and Midland (prior to February 2016; it is now 65 mph on I-20 in Odessa-Midland), I-10 in the outer parts of San Antonio, and several managed toll lanes in the DFW area.


text: Texas statutorily allows speed limits on I-10 and I-20 in certain counties named in the statute, each of which has a low population density. Separately, the Texas Transportation Commission may set a speed limit up to on any part of the state highway system if that part is "designed to accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed" and an "engineering and traffic investigation" determines the speed is "reasonable and safe".


text: As of now, the only road with an 85 mph speed limit is a portion of Texas State Highway 130 from the northern terminus of its concurrency with US-183 (), southward to I-10 near Seguin().


text: For "motorcars, pick-up trucks, or motorcycles", the fastest speed limit in this territory is and is found on one road, the divided highway and freeway known as the Melvin H. Evans Highway on the island of St. Croix. Outside of towns, these vehicles are limited to unless posted lower, except on the above-mentioned divided highway and parts of Centerline Road, which is limited to . Within towns, these vehicles are limited to .


text: "Motor trucks and buses" are limited to on St. Croix's main divided highway, on other highways outside of towns, and within towns.


text: In Utah, there is a minimum speed limit of on Interstate Highways when conditions permit. The maximum speed limit on Interstates is normally in cities and, on most highways, elsewhere. UDOT has now implemented HB83, raising the speed limit to 80 mph on an additional of rural interstate, including I-80 from Nevada to mile marker 99, I-84 from Idaho to I-15, and I-15 between St. George, Utah and Mona, Utah.


text: On April 3, 2013, Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said "We’d only do it in a situation that would make sense: flat, straight roadways. The Utah Department of Transportation is looking at expanding zones where it can increase the speed limit from 75 to 80 miles per hour. The Utah State Legislature recently approved a bill allowing for a series of zones to become permanent, as well as expanding them in other places around the state. UDOT began a study on Monday (April 1, 2013) to place more zones on rural parts of I-15, I-80 and I-84. The areas under consideration, UDOT spokesman said, are on I-80 from Grantsville (exit 99) to Wendover, on the Utah-Nevada border; I-84 from Tremonton to the Utah-Idaho border; I-15 from Brigham City (North interchange) to the Utah-Idaho border; and I-15 from Santaquin to North Leeds." The speed limit on these sections has been increased from 80 mph as of September 17, 2013.


text: On February 13, 2014, UDOT voted to increase the speed limit on I-80 from Salt Lake City across the Bonneville Salt Flats to the Nevada border to . The change went into effect on July 1, 2014. By July 1, 2014, the state raised the speed limit on all rural interstates in Utah to 80 mph except I-80 from the Wyoming border to Salt Lake City, on I-84 from its junction with I-80 to Ogden and on twisty sections of Interstate 70 from its I-15 junction to the Colorado border (the speed limit on I-70 still varies between 60 mph and 80 mph depending on the topography of the section of freeway.). The speed limit on every other highway is 55 mph unless otherwise posted, although several two-lane, undivided roads have 65 mph speed limits, with divided sections of U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 189 posted at 65 mph as well.


text: The standard speed limit in Vermont stands at . This is applied to rural two-lane roads. On urban freeways, divided at-grade expressways, and rural two-lane limited access roads, the speed limit is , such as on I-189 and Interstate 89 in Burlington, and US Route 7 and Vermont State Route 279 outside of Bennington. Rural freeways are posted at . Furthermore, the speed limit drops from 65 mph on rural highways to at the approach to the Canada–US border on Interstates 89 and 91, at Highgate and Derby Line, respectively. In school zones, the speed limit can range from to , depending on local authority. The minimum speed is defined at only on Interstate highways. That includes where the limit is posted at 55 and 65 mph. However, as old signs are being replaced, the "40 MINIMUM" is being phased out, keeping only "SPEED LIMIT 65".


text: A Virginia statute provides that the default speed limit "shall be 55 mph on interstate highways or other limited access highways with divided roadways, nonlimited access highways having four or more lanes, and all state primary highways." "The maximum speed limit on all other highways shall be 55 miles per hour if the vehicle is a passenger motor vehicle, bus, pickup or panel truck, or a motorcycle, but 45 mph on such highways if the vehicle is a truck, tractor truck, or combination of vehicles designed to transport property, or is a motor vehicle being used to tow a vehicle designed for self-propulsion, or a house trailer."


text: The same statute contains a number of exceptions, however, allowing higher speed limits "where indicated by lawfully placed signs, erected subsequent to a traffic engineering study and analysis of available and appropriate accident and law-enforcement data". This provision allows speed limits of up to on Interstate highways; multilane, divided, limited-access highways; and express or high-occupancy vehicle lanes if said lanes are physically separated from the regular travel lanes. (As of August 2015, Virginia has three such barrier-separated facilities: high-occupancy vehicle lanes on I-64 in the Tidewater area; as well as high-occupancy/toll "Express Lanes" on I-495 and I-95, and HOT/HOV lanes on I-395, all in Northern Virginia.) The statute also allows speed limits on a number of specified non-limited access, multilane, divided highways.


text: The 70-mph provision was added to Section 46.2-870 via an amendment effective on July 1, 2010. The previous version of the statute had authorized a 70-mph speed limit only on I-85; the maximum limit permitted elsewhere was 65 mph. Notably, the revised statute does not "require" a 70-mph speed limit on any road nor make such limit automatic, due to the requirement for traffic and engineering studies. The Virginia Department of Transportation began studying Interstate highways with 65-mph speed limits during April 2010 to determine which roads should receive the 70-mph limit and announced that the studies would be conducted in three phases over a period of several months, with the initial phase focusing on 323 miles of highway with "no significant levels of crashes and congestion". As of July 1, 2010, VDOT increased the speed limit to 70 mph on a portion of one highway (I-295 south of I-64). On October 20, 2010, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that by the end of 2010, VDOT would post 70-mph speed limits on 680 miles of Virginia Interstates located outside of urban areas, representing 61 percent of Virginia's total 1,119 miles of Interstate highways. While the statute allows for speed limits up to 70 mph on urban Interstates, as of March 2015 VDOT has declined to post a limit higher than 65 mph on any urban highway other than I-295 in Richmond.


text: The statute also allows 70-mph speed limits on routes other than Interstates. Initially VDOT declined to consider any such routes for the higher limit, but in early 2012 VDOT posted a 70-mph limit on a portion of US-29 near Lynchburg.


text: Other Virginia statutes prescribe exceptions to the general rules set forth above. The notable aspect of Virginia's current speed limit laws is that the Department of Transportation has no authority to raise speed limits above the statutory limits unless the General Assembly passes a statute permitting the change. Since the National Maximum Speed Law was repealed in 1995, such statutory exceptions were largely confined to a highway-by-highway basis, as evidenced by the list of 60-mph exceptions in Va. Code § 46.2-870.


text: Notably, Virginia's reckless driving statute provides that driving 20 mph over the speed limit, or in excess of regardless of the posted speed limit, is grounds for a reckless driving ticket. Thus, in a 70-mph zone traveling 16 mph (since July 2020) over the speed limit is prosecutable as a misdemeanor with penalties of up to a $2,500 fine and/or 1-year imprisonment.


text: Virginia law does not prescribe a fixed minimum speed limit, although a statute does authorize the posting of such limits where traffic and engineering studies indicate that they would be appropriate.


text: Virginia is the only state, along with the District of Columbia, that prohibits the use of radar detectors.


text: The Revised Code of Washington permits speed limits of in sections deemed appropriate by an engineering study. As of February 2016, the typical speed limit on a Washington freeway is rural, urban (the speed limits on these types of freeways only vary in the Tri Cities), with a truck speed limit no higher than 60 mph. The posted truck speed limit does not apply to any auto stage towing a trailer or trucks less than 10,000 pounds gross weight. Limits were raised to current speeds following the elimination of the federal 55 mph speed limit, to more closely reflect the common speeds of traffic at that time. There are a wide range of speed limits statewide, due to legislated flexibility for WSDOT in balancing the desire for transportation speed against safety considerations for any particular stretch of highway.


text: The default speed limit on a rural 2-lane highway in Washington is ; however, the limit on undivided highways varies. In mountainous country like the Cascades and Olympic Mountains, certain twisty roads are limited to , whereas some flat, straight highways in eastern Washington have a limit of 65. The speed limit for motorhomes and autos with trailers is 60 mph, the same limit as trucks. Roads with traffic lights are limited to 55 mph. The school zone speed limit is but is in effect only if children are present. Divided highways in Washington are rare, however, U.S. Route 395 between Pasco and Ritzville is a high-speed divided highway with a maximum speed limit of .


text: Some areas within Washington State use variable speed limits such as on portions of I-90 between Seattle and Issaquah and over Snoqualmie Pass.


text: The speed limit on most rural Interstates is . Urban Interstate speed limits generally vary from to . Sections of I-64 and I-68 have lower truck speed limits because of steep grades; otherwise, West Virginia does not post separate truck speed limits. The West Virginia Turnpike between Chelyan and Mahan, and I-77 between Princeton and Bluefield has a 60 mph speed limit because of sharp curves.


text: Speed limits on 4-lane divided highways are normally , although some stretches within cities are posted as low as . Open country highways have a statutory limit of 55 mph, which includes most rural two-lane highways and even includes some one lane back country roads or any road without a posted speed limit. Cities and towns set their own speed limits, which are usually between and . School zones have a statutory speed limit of . Speed limits are commonly reduced by 15 mph in work zones.


text: In 2019 the West Virginia Legislature passed a resolution allowing WVDOT to raise speed limits on interstates to 75 mph based on safety and traffic studies.


text: The state of Wisconsin's speed limits are set out in statutory law but may often be modified by the maintaining government entity. In addition to a basic speed rule, Wisconsin law specifies certain occasions where reduced speeds are required includingand not limited to the approaches and traverses of rail crossings, winding roads, roads where people are present, and the crests of grades. Although there is no numeric minimum speed limit, state law prohibits the impediment of traffic by unreasonably slow speeds. Vehicles that lack rubber tires filled with compressed air and/or carry a slow moving vehicle orange safety triangle have a hard limit of .


text: The state of Wisconsin has four default speed limits. limits apply in school zones (on major roads during school arrival and dismissal periods only), near parks with children, and in alleys. default speed limits apply, unless modified by the managing authority, on "service roads" within corporate limits. Within municipal boundaries and in areas of dense urban development a limit is in effect unless another speed limit is indicated. In some rural jurisdictions, such as townships, limit is the default speed limit for residential areas. The entry to such an area is to be marked by speed limit signs. Outside of built-up areas (these include denser business, industrial or residential land uses according to the relevant law) a limit is effective in the absence of other indications.


text: While all 2 lane roads maintained by WisDOT as of 2015 have a maximum, a small portion of Minnesota State Highway 23 that passes through the state south of Superior but is maintained by MNDOT has a limit through the state.


text: Along with the aforementioned default speed limits, there are other statutory speed limits that more often require signs to be effective. limits on freeways and limits on expressways require signs to be effective. The default speed limit on these types of roads is as they do not directly interact with the built-up environment. In the densest urban districts a statutory limit is effective when adequate signage is used, as are limits in areas of light development. The same applies to limits on highways designated as "rustic" roads. However, "an alleged failure to post [such a speed limit sign] is not a defense to a prosecution" in the case of such statutory limits.


text: Wyoming's highest speed limit is , found on its Interstate highways, and on its four-lane divided highways. The speed limit for school zones is , in urban districts and residential areas, 70 mph for other paved roads, and for unpaved roads. On I-80 in Cheyenne, I-25 in Cheyenne and Casper, and I-90 in Buffalo, the speed limit is .


text: In February 2014, the state Assembly passed a bill that would raise the speed limit from on certain freeway segments that would meet safety standards. The bill passed the Senate on February 25 and raised the speed limit on certain freeway sections to 80 mph on July 1, 2014. However, an attempt to raise the speed limit to on two-lane highways such as Wyoming 120 and US 14 was turned down that same month, but this same provision became law in February 2015. On February 1, 2016, the speed limit on WY 120 (a two-lane highway) from the Chief Joseph Highway to the Montana border increased to 70 mph. Two other two-lane highway sections, WY 130 from Interstate 80 south to Saratoga and US 85 from east of I-25 to Newcastle, increased to 70 mph.


title: Mississippi Queen

text: "Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1970. The song is included on the group's debut album and several live recordings have been issued.


title: Mississippi Queen

text: Drummer Corky Laing explained that he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band. Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together; bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits.


title: Mississippi Queen

text: "Mississippi Queen" was recorded during the sessions for Mountain's 1970 debut album "Climbing!", but without keyboard player Steve Knight. Pappalardi provided the piano part and during the recording, he insisted on numerous takes. Growing weary, Laing started using the cowbell to count off the song; Pappalardi liked it so much he left it in the mix, creating the song's recognizable intro.


title: Mississippi Queen

text: "Mississippi Queen" appears at number 10 on a 1995 chronological list of the "50 Heaviest Riffs of All Time" by "Guitar" magazine editorial staff. Author Scott R. Benarde describes the song as "an enduring anthem" with a "guitar riff that sounded like a carnivore choking on dinner". The song is named as one of "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time" by biographer Martin Popoff; it also appears at number 10 on the "Ultimate Classic Rock" 2011 list of the "Top 10 Southern Rock Songs". "Spin" magazine described it as "the cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to the cowbell what Dostoevsky is to the Russian novel" in naming it number one on its 2004 list of the "Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time".


title: Mississippi Queen

text: Ozzy Osbourne recorded "Mississippi Queen" for his 2005 album "Under Cover", with a guest appearance by West on guitar. The song reached number 10 on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock chart.


title: Sentō

text: Another type of Japanese public bath is "onsen", which uses hot water from a natural hot spring. In general, the word onsen means that the bathing facility has at least one bath filled with natural hot spring water. However, throughout the Kansai region of Japan, the word "onsen" is also a commonly used naming scheme for sentō. Sentō and supersentō in Kansai that do have access to a hot spring will often differentiate themselves by having "natural hot spring" (天然温泉) somewhere on their signage.


title: Sentō

text: There are many different layouts for a Japanese "sentō" or public bath. Most traditional "sentō", however, are very similar to the layout shown on the right. The entrance from the outside looks somewhat similar to a temple, with a Japanese curtain (暖簾, "noren") across the entrance. The curtain is usually blue and shows the kanji 湯 ("yu", lit. hot water) or the corresponding hiragana ゆ. After the entrance, there is an area with shoe lockers, followed by two long curtains or doors, one on each side. These lead to the "datsuijo" (脱衣場, changing room), also known as "datsuiba" for the men and women respectively. The men's and the women's sides are very similar and differ only slightly.


title: Sentō

text: A public bathing facility in Japan typically has one of two kinds of entrances. One is the front desk variety, where a person in charge sits at a front desk, abbreviated as "front." The other entrance variety is the bandai style. In Tokyo, 660 sentō facilities have a "front"-type entrance, while only 315 still have the more traditional bandai-style entrance.


title: Sentō

text: Inside, between the entrances is the "bandai" (番台), where the attendant sits. The "bandai" is a rectangular or horseshoe-shaped platform with a railing, usually around 1.5 to 1.8 m high. Above the "bandai" is usually a large clock. Immediately in front of the "bandai" is usually a utility door, to be used by the attendants only. The dressing room is approximately 10 m by 10 m, sometimes partly covered with tatami sheets and contains lockers for clothes. Often, there is a large shelf storing equipment for regular customers.


title: Sentō

text: The ceiling is very high, at 3 to 4 m. The separating wall between the men's and the women's side is about 1.5 m high. The dressing room also often has access to a very small Japanese garden with a pond and a Japanese-style toilet. There are a number of tables and chairs, including some coin-operated massage chairs. Usually, there is also a scale to measure weight, and sometimes height. In some very old "sentō", this scale may use the traditional Japanese measure "monme" (匁, 1 monme = 3.75 g) and "kan" (1 kan = 1000 monme = 3.75 kg). Similarly, in old "sentō" the height scale may go only to 180  cm. Local business often advertises in the "sentō". The women's side usually has some baby beds and may have more mirrors. The decoration and the advertising are often gender-specific on the different sides. There is usually a refreshment cooler there where the customers can self-serve and pay the attendant. Milk drinks are traditional favorites and sometimes there is ice cream.


title: Sentō

text: The bathing area is separated from the changing area by a sliding door to keep the heat in the bath. An exception are baths in Okinawa, where the climate is warmer and there is no need to keep the hot air in the bath. Sentō in Okinawa usually have no separation between the changing room and the bathing area or only a small wall with an opening to pass through.


title: Sentō

text: The bathing area is usually tiled. Near the entrance area is a supply of small stools and buckets. There are a number of washing stations at the wall and sometimes in the middle of the room, each with usually two faucets ("karan", カラン, after the Dutch word "kraan" for faucet), one for hot water and one for cold water, and a showerhead.


title: Sentō

text: At the end of the room are the bathtubs, usually at least two or three with different water temperatures, and maybe a 'denki buro' (電気風呂, electric bath). In the Osaka and Kansai area the bathtubs are more often found in the center of the room, whereas in Tokyo they are usually at the end of the room. The separating wall between the men and the women side is also about 1.5 m high. The ceiling may be 4 m high, with large windows in the top. On rare occasions, the separating wall also has a small hole. This was used to pass soap. At the wall on the far end of the room is usually a large ceramic tile mural or painting for decoration. Most often this is Mount Fuji, but it may be a general Japanese landscape, a (faux) European landscape, a river or ocean scene. On rarer occasions, it may also show a group of warriors or a female nude on the male side. Playing children or a female beauty often decorates the women's side.


title: Sentō

text: Behind the bathing area is the boiler room (釜場, "kamaba"), where the water is heated. This may use oil or electricity, or any other type of fuel such as wood chippings. The tall chimneys of the boilers are often used to locate the "sentō" from far away. After World War II, Tokyo often had power outages when all bathhouse owners turned on the electric water heating at the same time.


title: Sentō

text: Many modern "sentō" have a sauna with a bathtub of cold water (around 17 degrees Celsius) just outside it for cooling off afterward. Visitors are typically expected to pay an extra fee to use the sauna and are often given a wristband to signify this payment.


title: Sentō

text: The Japanese public bath is one area where the uninitiated can upset regular customers by not following correct bathing etiquette designed to respect others; in particular, not washing before bathing, dipping your towel into the water, introducing soap into the bathwater, and horseplay. "Sentō" commonly displays a poster describing bathing etiquette and procedures in Japanese or occasionally in other languages for international customers.


title: Sentō

text: Some ports in Hokkaidō, frequently used by foreign fishing fleets, had problems with drunken sailors misbehaving in the bath. Subsequently, a few bathhouses chose not to allow foreign customers at all.


title: Sentō

text: It is common to hear people say, "gokuraku, gokuraku" when they get into the bath. It means something to the level of divine pleasure; it is a good feeling for the body and the soul.


title: Sentō

text: Taking a bath at a public "sentō" requires at a bare minimum a small towel and some soap/shampoo. Attendants usually sell these items for 100-200 yen. Many people bring two towels; a hand towel for drying and a hand towel or washcloth for washing. A nylon scrubbing cloth or scrub brush with liquid soap is normally used for washing. Other body hygiene products may include a pumice stone, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving equipment, combs, shower caps, pomade, makeup products, powder, creams, etc. Some regular customers store their bucket of bathing equipment on open shelves in the dressing room.


title: Sentō

text: In Japan, it is customary to remove one's shoes when entering a private home. Similarly, shoes are removed before entering the bathing area in a "sentō". They are kept in a shoe locker. The locker is usually available free of charge. In a gender-segregated sentō, bathers go through one of the two doors. The men's door usually has a blue color and the kanji for man (男, "otoko") and the women's door usually has a pink color and the kanji for woman (女, "onna"). The attendant usually provides at extra cost a variety of bath products including towels, soap, shampoo, razors, and combs; ice cream or juice from the freezer can also be paid for here.


title: Sentō

text: There are usually free lockers with keys (that may be worn on the wrist into the baths) or large baskets provided to put personal effects.


title: Sentō

text: At "onsen" or hot springs, the water contains minerals and many people do not rinse off the water from the skin, to increase exposure to the minerals. In a regular "sentō", people usually rinse off at the faucets.


title: Sentō

text: Some public baths have signs refusing entry for people with tattoos. However, one may be allowed in if the tattoos are not too obvious. If one ventures to a public bathing place that is publicly owned, this should not present a problem as they have a duty to let all tax-paying citizens in. The original reason behind the ban was to keep out the "yakuza" (officially called the "violence groups" by the police).


title: Sentō

text: Japanese public baths have experienced infrequent outbreaks of dangerous Legionella bacteria. In order to prevent such problems, the "sentō" union adds chlorine to its baths. At the cost of higher levels of chlorine, bacteria outbreaks are practically non-existent at sentō facilities of today.


title: Sentō

text: Rules and pricing are regulated per prefecture based on local committees. Basic entrance fee for adults at a sentō in Tokyo is ¥450. Citing rise in oil prices as rationale, price has been raised from ¥400 (2000–2006), to ¥430 (2006–2008) and again to ¥450 (2008–present).


title: Sentō

text: In Tokyo, the price for children to enter has remained unchanged: 6- to 11-year-olds can enter at ¥180 each, while younger children can enter at ¥80 each. Girls 13 years or younger and boys 8 or younger are usually permitted to enter the baths of either gender. In other prefectures, the cut-off age can be as high as 16 in Hokkaidō or as low as 5 in Hyōgo.


title: Sentō

text: Most sentō in Tokyo also offers a premium service for which each facility sets its own price, usually around ¥1,000. This option is usually called a sauna since at least a sauna is included. At Civic Land Nissei, for example, the sauna option includes access to more than half of all the facilities available.


title: Sentō

text: Larger scale public bathing facility types are called super sentō and kenkō land, both more expensive than sentō, though super sentō offer a more modest price compared to kenkō.


title: Sentō

text: At ¥300 per adult, the cheapest prefectures to sentō baths are in Yamagata, Tokushima, Nagasaki, Ōita, and Miyazaki.


title: Sentō

text: The origins of the Japanese sentō and the Japanese bathing culture, in general, can be traced to the Shinto ritual purification kegare. This condition can be remedied through purification rites called misogi and harae.


title: Sentō

text: Baths in Japan were usually found in Buddhist temples. These baths were called "yuya" (, lit. hot water shop), or later when they increased in size "ōyuya" (, lit. big hot water shop). These baths were most often steam baths (, "mushiburo", lit. steam bath). While initially these baths were only used by priests, sick people gradually also gained access, until in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) sick people were routinely allowed access to the bathhouse. Wealthy merchants and members of the upper class soon also included baths in their residences.


title: Sentō

text: The first mentioning of a commercial bathhouse is in 1266 in the "Nichiren Goshoroku" (). These mixed-sex bath houses were only vaguely similar to modern bathhouses. After entering the bath, there was a changing room called "datsuijo" (). There the customer also received his/her ration of hot water, since there were no faucets in the actual bath. The entrance to the steam bath was only a very small opening with a height of about 80  cm, so that the heat did not escape. Due to the small opening, the lack of windows, and the thick steam, these baths were usually very dark, and customers often cleared their throats to signal their position to others.


title: Sentō

text: At the beginning of the Edo period (1603–1867), there were two types of baths common to the eastern and western regions of Japan respectively. In Edo (present-day Tokyo), bathhouses contained sizable pools and were called "yuya" (湯屋, lit. hot water shop). In Osaka, however, bathing establishments were primarily steam baths called "mushiburo" (蒸し風呂, lit. steam bath) that had only shallow pools.


title: Sentō

text: At the end of the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868) at different times required baths to segregate by sex in order to ensure public moral standards. However, many bathhouse owners merely partitioned their baths with a small board, allowing some voyeurism to persist. Other baths avoided this problem by having men and women bathe at different times of day, or by catering to one gender exclusively. In spite of this, laws regarding mixed-sex bathing were soon relaxed again.


title: Sentō

text: Contributing to the popularity of public baths in the Edo period were female bathing attendants were known as "yuna" (湯女, lit. hot water women). These attendants helped cleanse customers by scrubbing their backs. After official closing hours, however, a number of these women would perform additional services by selling sex to male customers. Similarly, some brothels in contemporary Japan have women who specialize in bathing with and cleansing male clientele. Such establishments are often called "sōpu rando" (ソープランド, soapland).


title: Sentō

text: As a preventive measure against prostitution, the Tokugawa shogunate stipulated that no more than three yuna serve at any given bathhouse. However, this rule was widely ignored, causing the shogunate to ban female attendants from bathhouses altogether and once again prohibit the practice of mixed-sex bathing. Large numbers of unemployed yuna thereafter moved to official red-light districts, where they could continue their services. Up until 1870, there were also male washing assistants called "sansuke" (三助, lit. three bits of help) who would wash and massage customers of both genders. Unlike the yuna, these male attendants were not known to engage in prostitution.


title: Sentō

text: Mixed-sex bathing was prohibited once again after Commodore Perry visited Japan in 1853 and 1854—drawing question to the morality of the practice.


title: Sentō

text: During the Meiji period (1867–1912) the design of Japanese baths changed considerably. The narrow entrance to the bathing area was widened considerably to a regular-sized sliding door, the bathtubs were sunk partially in the floor so that they could be entered more easily, and the height of the ceiling of the bathhouse was then doubled. Since the bath now focused on hot water instead of steam, windows could be added, and the bathing area became much brighter. The only difference between these baths and the modern bath was the use of wood for the bathing area and the lack of faucets.


title: Sentō

text: Furthermore, another law for segregated bathing was passed in 1890, allowing only children below the age of 8 to join a parent of the opposite sex.


title: Sentō

text: At the beginning of the Taishō period (1912–1926), tiles gradually replaced wooden floors and walls in new bathhouses. On September 1, 1923 the great Kantō earthquake devastated Tokyo. The earthquake and the subsequent fire destroyed most baths in the Tokyo area. This accelerated the change from wooden baths to tiled baths, as almost all new bathhouses were now built in the new style using tiled bathing areas. At the end of the Taishō period, faucets also became more common, and this type of faucet can still be seen today. These faucets were called "karan" (カラン, after the Dutch word "kraan" for faucet). There were two faucets, one for hot water and one for cold water, and the customer mixed the water in their bucket according to their personal taste.


title: Sentō

text: During World War II (for Japan 1941–1945), many Japanese cities were damaged. Subsequently, most bathhouses were destroyed along with the cities. The lack of baths caused the reappearance of communal bathing and temporary baths were constructed with the available material, often lacking a roof. Furthermore, as most houses were damaged or destroyed, few people had access to a private bath, resulting in a great increase in customers for the bathhouses. New buildings in the post-war period also often lacked baths or showers, leading to a strong increase in the number of public baths. In 1965 many baths also added showerheads to the faucets in baths. The number of public baths in Japan peaked around 1970.


title: Sentō

text: Immediately after World War II, resources were scarce and few homeowners had access to a private bath. Private baths began to be more common around 1970, and most new buildings included a bath and shower unit for every apartment. Easy access to private baths led to a decline in customers for public bathhouses, and subsequently, the number of bathhouses is decreasing. Some Japanese young people today are embarrassed to be seen naked and avoid public baths for this reason. Some Japanese are concerned that without the "skinship" of mutual nakedness, children will not be properly socialized.


title: Sentō

text: While the traditional "sentō" is in decline, many bathhouse operators have adjusted to the new taste of the public and are offering a wide variety of experiences. Some bathhouses emphasize their tradition and run traditionally-designed bathhouses to appeal to clientele seeking lost Japan. These bathhouses are also often located in scenic areas and may include an open-air bath. Some also try drilling in order to gain access to a hot spring, turning a regular bathhouse into a more prestigious "onsen".


title: Sentō

text: Other bathhouses with less pristine buildings or settings change into so-called super "sentō" and try to offer a wider variety of services beyond the standard two or three bathtubs. They may include a variety of saunas, reintroduce steam baths, include jacuzzis and may even have a water slide. They may also offer services beyond mere cleansing, and turn into a spa, offering medical baths, massages, mud baths, fitness centers, etc., as for example the "Spa LaQua" at the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex. There are also entire bathhouse theme parks, including restaurants, karaoke and other entertainment, as for example the "Ōedo Onsen Monogatari" (大江戸温泉物語, Big Edo Hot Spring Story) in Odaiba, Tokyo. (Note: The "Ōedo Onsen Monogatari" is not a "sentō".) Some of these modern facilities may require the use of swimsuits and are similar in size and function to an indoor water park.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: The was a ship class of four cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1930s. They were initially classified as light cruisers under the weight and armament restrictions of the London Naval Treaty. After Japan abrogated that agreement, all four ships were rearmed with larger guns and reclassified as heavy cruisers. All participated in World War II and were sunk.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: For the 1931 Fleet Replenishment Program, believing themselves understrength in cruisers, the IJN chose to build to the maximum allowed by the Washington Naval Treaty. This resulted in the choice of guns in five triple turrets (a first for Japan) in the "Mogami"s, also capable of 55° elevation, making the "Mogami"s one of the very few classes of cruiser to have a dual purpose (DP) main battery; this was coupled with very heavy anti-aircraft protection, as well as the standard reloadable, turreted torpedo launchers, also unique to the IJN.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: To save weight and improve transverse stability, the class was given a more compact and lower superstructure, made of aluminium, which was welded rather than riveted. Only ten boilers could be fit under the weight limits (compared to twelve in the previous and classes), and the chimney arrangement was designed to minimize weight as well; the middle funnel featured no chimney of its own, instead venting its exhaust gasses into the underside of the forward chimney, which itself was reclined from its base so that, at its top, it merged with the aft funnel's chimney. The new geared impulse turbines added over "Atago", increasing the top speed by . Protection, however, was not stinted on; the class proved able to take substantial punishment.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: The declared weight was 8,500 tons, though the true design weight was 9,500 and at trials they would displace 11,169 tons.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: The designers, however, had overreached; excessive topweight led to instability, and gunnery trials revealed cracking hull welds. Hull bulges were retrofitted to "Mogami" and "Mikuma", and added to "Kumano" and "Suzuya", increasing beam to and displacement to 11,200 tons, cutting speed by .


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: Following Japan's withdrawal from the Second London Naval Treaty, plans were made to modernize and expand the entire fleet. Beginning in 1939, the class was brought in for substantial reconstruction, replacing the triple 155 mm turrets with twin 203 mm (8-inch) guns, turning over the 155 mm turrets for the battleships of the . Indeed, the designers had designed the class in mind so that the 6-inch guns could be switched with 8-inch batteries, in effect making them heavy cruisers and skirting the London Naval Treaty, though the Japanese had withdrawn from the conference and were not signatories to the Second London Naval Treaty of 1936.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: Torpedo bulges were also added; in all, displacement rose to over 13,000 tons, and speed dropped to .


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: The United States Navy's s were designed specifically to counter the "Mogami" class, and as a result had a very similar armament to the pre-refit "Mogami"s, in a nearly identical layout, although the US-pattern 6-inch/47-caliber gun was semi-automatic, with a higher rate of fire and the three weapons in each turret mounted in a single sleeve. Japan's choice of the 155 mm gun caliber is curious, as Japan already had a 6-inch (152 mm) weapon in service, of nearly equal performance. In spite of the resulting multiplicity of similar gun calibers, Japan resented the 5-5-3 treaty ratios, and had vowed to build to the very limit allowed by the 1922 Washington and 1930 London Naval Treaties. As the French had already used a 155 mm main battery in the three s (1922–1926), this became the largest gun caliber allowed for light cruisers under the 1930 London Naval Treaty. This line of reasoning is wrong though: The shell of the 155mm version of the gun weighed 56kg versus 45kg of the ever so slightly smaller caliber. The new gun was a new design, not a minor modification to an existing design.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: All four ships participated in the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. "Mogami" and "Mikuma" were present at the Battle of Sunda Strait and contributed to the sinkings of the cruisers and .


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: In June 1942, all four took part in the Battle of Midway, where "Mogami" and "Mikuma" collided trying to avoid a submarine attack; "Mikuma" was finished off on 6 June 1942 by aircraft from aircraft carriers and . The heavily damaged "Mogami" limped home and spent ten months in yard, during which her afterparts were completely rebuilt, and "X" and "Y" turrets were replaced by a flight deck (with the intention to operate 11 aircraft).


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: In October 1944, the survivors were reunited at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. "Mogami", heavily damaged by a collision with the cruiser , cruiser gunfire, and aerial attack, was scuttled by the destroyer , while "Kumano" limped into Manila harbor on one boiler, to be sunk by Halsey's aviators on 25 November 1944; the US escort carrier planes mauled "Suzuya" at Leyte, which was scuttled by the destroyer on 25 October.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: This class is seen by naval architects as trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. The IJN's Naval staff insisted that each new class be superior to anything else in its category, which placed an enormous burden on Japanese naval constructors and the difficulties with these ships have to be seen in this light.


title: Mogami-class cruiser

text: The initial construction was extremely light in order to comply with the naval treaties and had to be remedied. When the Royal Navy's Director of Naval Construction (DNC) was told about these ships by British Naval Intelligence, quoting the public displacement figure, he replied that the capabilities quoted could not be achieved on this displacement and that "they must be building their ships out of cardboard or lying".


title: Digital Cinema Package

text: A Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is a collection of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (DC) audio, image, and data streams.


title: Digital Cinema Package

text: The term was popularized by Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC in its original recommendation for packaging DC contents. However, the industry tends to apply the term to the structure more formally known as the composition. ("You PLAY a composition, You do NOT play a Digital Cinema Package".) A DCP is a “packing crate” for compositions, a hierarchical file structure that represents a title version. The DCP may carry a partial composition (e.g. not a complete set of files), a single complete composition, or multiple and complete compositions.