Michigan speed limits and key traffic laws

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state Michigan's default speed limits for common road types.
• You can explain how work zone limits, fines and points work.
• You can stop correctly for a school bus.
• You can follow the move-over law for stopped emergency vehicles.
• You can name places where passing is not allowed.

What you need to know and understand

• 25 mph applies in platted subdivisions and condominium complexes; 15 mph in mobile home parks and some municipal parks.
• Unless posted otherwise, the limit is 55 mph on highways and streets that are not freeways.
• Freeways have a 70 mph maximum and 55 mph minimum unless posted otherwise.
• Work zones are usually 45 mph when posted, and fines double for moving violations there.
• Stop at least 20 feet from a school bus with flashing red lights.
• For a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights, slow to at least 10 mph below the limit and move over a lane if safe.
• Stay at least 500 feet behind a moving emergency vehicle using lights and siren.

Default limits and when to go slower

Signs override the defaults, so always watch for posted limits, especially in business districts, near parks and playgrounds, and in school and hospital zones where limits vary. On freeways, school buses and trucks are limited to 65 mph, or 55 mph where the freeway limit is below 70.

Rain, snow, fog, heavy traffic and darkness all call for a lower speed than the sign allows. If you cannot stop within the distance you can see, you are going too fast.

Work zones, maintenance vehicles and buses

• In work zones the limit may drop to 45 mph only while workers are present. Workers can direct traffic, and their directions override signals.
• Speeding in a work zone adds extra points: 3 points for up to 10 mph over, 4 points for 11 to 15 mph over, and 5 points for more than 15 mph over.
• Injuring or killing someone in a work zone can bring fines up to $7,500 and up to 15 years in prison.
• Flashing green lights on a state or local road maintenance vehicle mean road work is under way: slow down and take care.
• School bus yellow overhead lights mean prepare to stop; red overhead lights mean stop at least 20 feet away until they go off. You need not stop on the far side of a road divided by a barrier or median.

Passing and lane rules

On a two-lane road, return to your lane before you get within 200 feet of an oncoming vehicle. Do not pass within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing, near a hill or curve that hides oncoming traffic, where a solid yellow line is on your side, or when a vehicle has stopped for a pedestrian.

On interstates and full-access controlled freeways, keep to the right lane except to pass, avoid hazards, yield to emergency or construction vehicles, or when traffic or weather makes it necessary. Weaving from lane to lane is illegal. Our guide to learning to drive in Michigan pulls these rules together.

Common mistakes

• Treating 70 mph as the target on a freeway in snow. The Basic Speed Law still applies.
• Forgetting the 45 mph work zone limit, which carries doubled fines and extra points.
• Passing a stopped school bus on an undivided multi-lane road. All traffic must stop unless a barrier or median separates you.
• Racing past a stopped police car on the shoulder instead of slowing and moving over.

Test yourself: Michigan speed limits and key traffic laws

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

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• Michigan 50-Hour Supervised Driving Log
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