Nevada speed limits and key traffic laws

By the end of this topic you can

• You can explain Nevada's basic speed rule.
• You can recall typical speed limits for different types of road.
• You can say when school zone limits apply and what happens in work zones.
• You can pass other vehicles legally and safely.
• You can respond correctly to school buses and stopped emergency or service vehicles.

What you need to know and understand

• You must always drive at a reasonable and proper speed for traffic, weather, visibility and the road surface.
• Typical Nevada limits: 15 mph in school zones, 25 mph in business and residential areas, 65 mph on urban freeways and rural highways, and 70 mph or more on rural interstates.
• State law caps speed limits at 80 mph, and that limit applies only where it is posted.
• School zone limits are 15 or 25 mph, usually from half an hour before school starts until half an hour after it ends.
• Speeding fines double in work zones.
• You must stop for a school bus showing flashing red lights, except when it is on the other side of a divided highway.
• When passing stopped emergency, utility or service vehicles, slow below the posted limit and move out of the next lane if you safely can.

Reading Nevada speed limits

The handbook gives example limits rather than one fixed list, because local and state agencies post the limit for each road. Use these as a guide and always obey the sign in front of you.

In school zones, flashing yellow lights may show when the lower limit is in force. If the lights are off during class time, the normal limit applies. U-turns in school zones are banned while the zone is in effect.

In work zones, black and white speed signs are legal limits, while orange speed signs are advisory. Moving barriers or driving through a closed road brings double penalties.

• 15 mph: school zones
• 25 mph: business and residential districts, and some school zones
• 45 mph: reduced speed areas entering towns
• 65 mph: urban freeways and rural highways
• 70 mph or more: rural interstate freeways, up to an 80 mph maximum where posted

Passing and lane rules

• Never go over the speed limit to pass, and never use the shoulder to pass.
• On two-lane roads, do not pass within 100 feet of an intersection or railroad crossing, near a curve or hilltop where you cannot see, or where there is a solid yellow line on your side.
• Signal 100 feet before passing in business or residential areas, or 300 feet in other areas.
• On a highway with two lanes in your direction, do not cruise in the far left lane below the limit while faster traffic is coming up behind you, apart from set exceptions such as preparing to turn left or driving in a city.
• If someone signals to pass you, move right in your lane and do not speed up.

School buses and stopped vehicles

A school bus with flashing red lights means stop, whichever direction you are traveling, and stay stopped until the driver turns the lights off. The one exception is a divided highway, where only traffic going the same way as the bus must stop. Bus drivers can report violators, and passing a stopped bus carries 4 demerit points.

Nevada's move-over law covers police, tow trucks, NDOT vehicles, garbage trucks and others with flashing lights, and anyone repairing a vehicle at the roadside. Slow to a safe speed below the limit, be ready to stop and, where possible, use a lane that is not next to them.

Common mistakes

• Treating the posted limit as a safe speed in rain, wind or dust. The basic speed rule still applies.
• Missing school zone signs early in the morning. The limit starts half an hour before classes begin.
• Passing a stopped school bus on an undivided multi-lane road. All traffic must stop unless the road is divided.
• Staying in the lane next to a stopped tow truck at full speed. Slow down and move over if you can.

Test yourself: Nevada speed limits and key traffic laws

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

Go deeper

• Learning to Drive in Nevada
• Moving to Nevada
• Nevada Demerit Points and License Suspensions for New Drivers