Does the Speed Limit Start Before or After The Sign in New York?
It's a burning question that many New York drivers have always wondered. Where exactly does the speed limit start?
We've all been in this situation: You're driving down the street and see a speed limit sign that says you can start going faster. You wonder if that means you can start speeding up now, or after you actually pass the sign.
Nowhere in the New York State driving manual does it explain when the speed limit actually increases. Some people believe that if you can see the sign, that must mean that you can drive that speed. Others claim that the sign is a marker, designating the exact spot on the road where the speed limit increases.
Well, we now have a difinitive answer thanks to Attorney Jonna Spilbor of Poughkeepsie. Spilbor did some research for us and found out that the speed limit technically does not increase until after your car has passed the sign.
So, just because you can see the posted speed limit, that doesn't mean that you can actually go that speed. You need to wait until after you pass the sign to increase your speed or else you could get ticketed.
Of course, it seems very unlikely that anyone would get ticketed speeding right before they reached the sign, unless they were already going well over the speed limit. But at least we now have an official answer.