New Jersey S 629: Requires posted speed limit on certain limited access highways be based on speed at which 85 percent of vehicles are traveling; designated as Speed Limit Sanity Act.

Bill Text

SENATE, No. 629

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

Sponsored by:
Senator DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 13 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS
Requires posted speed limit on certain limited access highways be based on
speed at which 85 percent of vehicles are traveling; designated as Speed Limit
Sanity Act.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

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EXPLANATION – Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is
not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.

Matter underlined thus is new matter.
AN ACT concerning speed limits on certain limited access 1
highways, designated as Speed Limit Sanity Act, amending 2
R.S.39:4-98, supplementing Titles 27 and 39 of the Revised 3
Statutes, and repealing sections 2 through 8 of P.L.1997, c.415. 4
5
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 6
of New Jersey: 7
8
1. R.S.39:4-98 is amended to read as follows: 9
39:4-98. Rates of speed. Subject to the provisions of 10
R.S.39:4-96 and R.S.39:4-97 and except in those instances where a 11
lower speed is specified in this chapter, it shall be prima facie 12
lawful for the driver of a vehicle to drive it at a speed not exceeding 13
the following: 14
a. Twenty-five miles per hour, when passing through a school 15
zone during recess, when the presence of children is clearly visible 16
from the roadway, or while children are going to or leaving school, 17
during opening or closing hours; 18
b. (1) Twenty-five miles per hour in any business or 19
residential district; 20
(2) Thirty-five miles per hour in any suburban business or 21
residential district; 22
c. Fifty miles per hour in all other locations, except as 23
otherwise provided [in the "Sixty-Five MPH Speed Limit 24
Implementation Act," pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1997, c.415 25
(C.39:4-98.3 et al.)] pursuant to sections 2 through 8 of 26
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 27
Whenever it shall be determined upon the basis of an engineering 28
and traffic investigation that any speed hereinbefore set forth is 29
greater or less than is reasonable or safe under the conditions found 30
to exist at any intersection or other place or upon any part of a 31
highway, the Commissioner of Transportation, with reference to 32
State highways, may by regulation and municipal or county 33
authorities, with reference to highways under their jurisdiction, may 34
by ordinance, in the case of municipal authorities, or by ordinance 35
or resolution, in the case of county authorities, subject to the 36
approval of the Commissioner of Transportation, except as 37
otherwise provided in R.S.39:4-8, designate a reasonable and safe 38
speed limit thereat which, subject to the provisions of R.S.39:4-96 39
[and] , R.S.39:4-97, and pursuant to sections 2 through 8 of 40
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 41
shall be prima facie lawful at all times or at such times as may be 42
determined, when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are 43
erected at such intersection, or other place or part of the highway. 44
Appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limits authorized under 45

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the provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection b. and subsection c. of 1
this section may be erected if the commissioner or the municipal or 2
county authorities, as the case may be, so determine they are 3
necessary. Appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limits 4
authorized under the provisions of subsection a. and paragraph (2) 5
of subsection b. of this section shall be erected by the commissioner 6
or the municipal or county authorities, as appropriate. 7
When designating reasonable and safe speed limits for a street 8
under its jurisdiction pursuant to this subsection, as part of an 9
engineering and traffic investigation, a municipality or county shall 10
consider, but not be limited to, the following criteria: residential 11
density; the presence, or lack, of sidewalks; the prevalence of entry 12
and exit ways for business and commercial establishments; whether 13
school children walk adjacent to the street on their way to and from 14
school; and the proximity of recreational or park areas, schools, 15
community residences, family day care homes, child care centers, 16
assisted living facilities, or senior communities. Nothing in this 17
paragraph shall substitute for traffic count, accident, and speed 18
sampling data as appropriate. 19
The driver of every vehicle shall, consistent with the 20
requirements of this section, drive at an appropriate reduced speed 21
when approaching and crossing an intersection or railway grade 22
crossing, when approaching and going around a curve, when 23
approaching a hill crest, when traveling upon any narrow or 24
winding roadway, and when special hazard exists with respect to 25
pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway 26
conditions.