Questions and Answers About Your Commute : Speed Limit on L.A. Freeways Is 65 or Posted

Via e-mail, George Acme writes:

Regarding the new 65-mph speed limit: Does it mean that the speed limit on the freeways and highways is 65 mph unless posted, or is it 55 mph unless posted? I can travel 20 to 30 miles around certain freeways in the greater Los Angeles area and never see a speed limit sign.

Dear George:

As if intuiting your confusion, the state Senate adopted a bill--SB 848, to be precise--that sets the speed limit for all freeways in Los Angeles County at a bustling 65 mph, explained California Highway Patrol Sgt. Ernie Garcia. That bill, which took effect Saturday, addresses the signage problem. “Additional signing should be installed within the next week,” he said.

That aside, there is the matter of bureaucratic gobbledygook: namely, the exceptions to the bill, printed herein as a public service of Traffic Talk.

The speed limit remains 55 mph on the Hollywood Freeway (101) between the Ventura Freeway (134) and the Santa Ana Freeway (5); on the Santa Ana Freeway between Rio Hondo and the Pasadena Freeway (California 110), including the East L.A. interchange; the Santa Monica Freeway (10) between the California 110 and the Santa Ana Freeway; on the Pasadena Freeway from the Santa Monica Freeway until the freeway ends in South Pasadena; on the Marina Freeway (California 90) from the San Diego Freeway until the freeway ends in Marina del Rey, and on the Terminal Island and Vincent-Thomas bridges on the Terminal Island Freeway (California 47).

Got it?

And, for the lead foot’s dream, the Antelope Valley Freeway (California 14) has a blistering 70 mph limit between Avenue I and the Kern County line.

Recently, Traffic Talk has received a number of questions about freeway exit ramp etiquette, particularly when a driver is making a right-hand turn from the center lane of a three-lane ramp, so let’s settle it once and for all.

We asked experts to clarify: Can a driver legally make a right on red from the offramp’s center lane? Or should we demurely ignore the bleating horns of the late-model BWM drivers behind us and wait for a green?

Chalk one up for the BMW drivers of the world, said Caltrans spokesman Vincent Moreno.

He explained that the California Vehicle Code does not differentiate between intersections where streets meet streets and intersections where freeway ramps meet streets as far as right on red is concerned.

So, on a three-lane freeway offramp with a right-turn lane, a left-turn lane and a No. 2 lane where painted white arrows indicate that you can turn right, left or go straight, it is generally legal to turn right on red from the middle lane.

But, Moreno cautioned, there are a couple of caveats to this situation. For one, everything is null and void if the intersection has a sign prohibiting right on red, or if it doesn’t have arrows or signs permitting right turns from the center lane. Moreover, making the turn can be a dicey proposition. Moreno advises that you watch the vehicle in the far right lane to make sure his or her car isn’t drifting into your lane. A solid white line should demarcate who gets which lane. “The person in the No. 1 lane in this circumstance must pay attention to signs and turn into the lane that meets his lane,” Moreno said.

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