California Towing Speed Limit
While towing into and back out of California in July I noticed there were a bunch of signs saying the speed limit was 55 mph for any vehicle towing something. Does that limit get strictly enforced or...
Forum Discussion
msmith1199 wrote:WayneLee wrote:
Well msmith1199, let me introduce you to someone that has received a ticket in California for the new 55 mph speed limit while towing, namely ME.
A few weeks after the new law became effective, I was driving my Class A diesel pusher east bound on I8 between Ocotillo Wells and El Centro, towing my Hummer H3, and going 70 mph. 70 was the "old" speed limit for that stretch. Suddenly, a CHP officer was alongside me and motioning me to the side of the road. My VERY FIRST ticket for a moving violation in 50 years of driving!!
The first Hummer H3 wasn't made until 2005. The law restricting the speed to 55 while towing was on the books at least when I went to the academy in 1983 so I don't know how long before that it was in place. So I'm not sure what "new law" you are referring to. Are you saying they lowered the speed limit on that entire section for everybody?
And I guess I should have added, I rarely do 70 in my motorhome with a toad. I normally set the cruise control at about 65, don't tail gate, and don't make unsafe lane changes. In all those years I've never been pulled over. I also have been known to fracture the speed limit in my car, but again I don't add tailgating and unsafe lane changes to that, and I never get stopped in my car either. Now I have been pulled over in unmarked police cars when we were out doing surveillances and the circumstances called for some fast driving and excessive lane changes. That definitely gets the attention of CHP.
