Northwest Territories speed limits and key traffic laws

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state the default speed limits inside and outside NWT settlements.
• You can explain how school and playground zones work.
• You can respond correctly to a school bus with flashing lights.
• You can explain what to do when you approach emergency flashing lights.

What you need to know and understand

• 90 km/h is the maximum on a primary highway outside a settlement or municipality unless posted otherwise.
• 50 km/h is the maximum on a highway within a settlement or municipality unless posted otherwise.
• School and playground zone limits are generally 30 km/h and apply 24 hours a day, every day, unless times are posted.
• You must not pass a vehicle travelling the same way in a school or playground zone while it is in effect.
• Speeding fines are doubled in construction zones when workers are present, and in school zones.
• When you pass emergency flashing lights, the manual tells you to slow to half the posted speed limit.
• You must not follow within 150 metres of an emergency vehicle using its siren or lights.
• Municipalities can set their own speed, school and playground zone bylaws, so watch the signs.

Default limits and zones

A school or playground zone ends where a sign shows a higher limit or the end of the zone.

• Primary highway outside a community: 90 km/h unless signed.
• Roads inside a settlement or municipality: 50 km/h unless signed.
• School zone or playground zone with a speed tab: generally 30 km/h, all day, every day, unless times are shown.
• Construction zones: obey the posted speed at all times, even when nobody is working.
• Slow-moving vehicle sign (orange triangle): the vehicle is built for under 40 km/h, so slow down early.

School buses: stop means stop

Alternating flashing amber lights on a school bus warn that it is about to stop. Get ready to stop. When the alternating red lights come on, and a stop arm may swing out, you must stop before reaching the bus. On an undivided road this applies to traffic coming from either direction, in every lane.

Stay stopped until the red lights go off, and keep well back so drivers behind you can see the lights too. The only exception is when you meet the bus from the front on a highway physically divided by a median: then you may continue with care.

Emergency scenes and other rules to remember

When you see flashing lights from emergency vehicles at a scene ahead, slow down to half the posted speed, change lanes or pull right if needed, and follow any directions from people controlling traffic. Tow trucks and utility vehicles often attend incidents too, so leave plenty of room.

Other NWT laws worth knowing: driving without due care and attention is careless driving; you must not ride or let anyone ride outside a vehicle, including the open box of a pickup, with very limited exceptions; and you must not tow a person on skis, a toboggan or a bicycle. The deeper guide on learning to drive in the Northwest Territories has more.

Common mistakes

• Treating 90 km/h as the speed to drive on gravel or icy highways. Slow down for the conditions.
• Speeding up in a school zone after classes end. Unless times are posted, the 30 km/h limit applies 24 hours a day.
• Passing a school bus with flashing red lights from the opposite direction on an undivided road. You must stop.
• Rolling past an emergency scene at full speed. Slow to half the posted limit and give workers space.

Test yourself: Northwest Territories speed limits and key traffic laws

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

Go deeper

• How to Get a Driver’s Licence in the NWT