Following is an overview of the laws, limits, and fines as they relate to speeding traffic violations in the state of Kansas.
Speed limits in Kansas
75 mph: rural freeways and interstates
70 mph: other interstates and divided roads
65 mph: other highways except county and township highways
55 mph: county and township highways
30 mph: residential and urban districts
As of early 2016, Kansas rejected a measure to raise the interstate speed limit to 80 mph, but was considering increasing state highway and county and township highway speed limits by five miles per hour.
Kansas code on reasonable and prudent speed
Maximum speed law:
According to section 8-1557 of Kansas vehicle code, “A person shall not operate a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual hazards then existing.”
Minimum speed law:
Sections 8-1561(a) and 8-1514(b) state:
“No person shall operate a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.”
“A person driving at less than the normal speed of traffic shall drive in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.”
Due to variations in speedometer calibration, tire size, and margins of error in speed-detecting technology, it’s uncommon for an officer to pull a driver over for going less than five miles above the speed limit. However, technically any amount over can be considered a speed violation so best practices are to stay within the limit.
While it may be difficult to fight a speeding ticket in Kansas due to the absolute speed limit law, a driver may choose to go to court and claim their innocence based upon one of the following:
The driver may oppose the determination of speed. In order to claim this defense a driver must know how his or her speed was determined and then learn how to disprove its accuracy.
A driver may claim that an emergency situation caused the driver to break the speed limit in order to prevent injury or damage to themselves or others.
The driver may claim a case of mistaken identity. If a police officer clocks a driver speeding and subsequently has to find them again in traffic, it’s possible that they could make a mistake and pull the wrong car over.
Penalty for exceeding the speed limit in Kansas
First-time violators may:
Be fined up to $500 (plus an additional $9 assessment)
Have their license suspended for up to one year
Penalty for reckless driving in Kansas
There is no set speed in Kansas at which violating the speed limit is considered reckless driving. That determination depends upon the circumstances surrounding the violation.
First-time violators may:
Be fined between $50 and $500
Be sentenced to between five and 90 days of jail time
Have their license suspended for up to one year
Violators may be required to attend traffic school, and/or may be able to have their speeding fine reduced by attending these classes.
