Few people in Cranford set out every morning with the intention of breaking the law. However, being late for an important meeting, trying to rush to beat a red light or simply losing focus on how fast you are going for a moment may prompt you to commit a traffic infraction. Like most, you recognize the need for speed limits in order to promote safe driving, and in many cases, your apparent neglect of them may not even be intentional. After all, without a speed limit posted, how are you to know how fast you are permitted to drive?
This may come as a surprise but the speed limit laws in most states are not driven by certain numbers, but rather determinations of what is considered to be reasonably safe (the posted speed limits are simply the maximum speed at which you are permitted to drive). For this reason, law enforcement officials may cite you for speeding even in cases where you were driving under the posted speed limit if it is believed you were driving faster than you should in the given conditions.
This takes the discussion back to areas where the speed limit is not posted. On such streets, officials enforce implied speed limits. According to the website for the State of New Jersey, these speed limits are as follows:
- 25 miles per hour in school zones, or in business or residential districts
- 35 miles per hour in low density business and residential districts
- 50 miles per hour on all other roadways
These are the limits which officials have deemed to be safe for their designated areas. Your unfamiliarity with these speed limits may support your defense against aa speeding ticket provided you are not cited for driving drastically over the implied limit.
