On California highways, you can often see cars going a little faster than they should, especially on stretches like Highway 50 or Highway 99 near Sacramento.
Many drivers, after seeing this behavior, decide to match it—either because they think it is normal, or because they think it’s more dangerous if you drive slower.
However, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) confirms that this is not considered legal, and the penalties for exceeding the speed limit can easily reach hundreds of dollars.
Maximum speed limits and situations in which you have to slow down
You are not allowed to drive faster than is reasonable or prudent, especially if it risks people or property, according to California law—and basically across the country.
When choosing your speed, the DMV Driver’s Handbook advises taking traffic, weather, and road conditions into account. But the overall rule is that drivers are expected to stay at or below the limit, at all times.
If you go over it, that’s considered a potential infraction and it might end in a ticket—or worse, if you crash.
The maximum allowed speed is marked by the black-and-white signs, Officer Ruben Jones (CHP) reminds us. Unless indicated otherwise, the speed limit is:
- 25 mph in business and residential areas.
- 55 mph on two-lane undivided highways.
- 65 mph on most freeways.
These are just standard speed limits; in bad weather, you need to slow down even more.
The rules behind California’s speed limits
What happens if you choose to join the speeding crowd? It doesn’t matter how much over the limit you are driving, you might get a ticket, according to the CHP. Jones explained to The Sacramento Bee that “there is no grace mileage.“ “Once you do one (mile) over, you’re in violation of the law, and you could be subject to a citation.“
Furthermore, he explained that “Nowhere in the entire vehicle code will you find the term or phrase ‘flow of traffic’—or ‘I was going with everybody else,’ or ‘I was following the guy in front of me,‘” Jones continued: “None of those are viable defenses against a speeding citation in court, nor are they a good excuse to speed.“
What happens if you merge or change lanes? No one should exceed the limit, Jones told the Bee. The instructor, Henning Mortensen, adds a different point of view though: “If you don’t speed and go with the flow of the traffic, at that time, you could be impeding traffic. Impeding traffic is a violation, because you can cause a collision.“
However, he added that “the moment you have secured your spot in the traffic, you must then go back to following the speed limit laws.“
Mortensen advises changing to the right lane if someone is following too closely so they can pass on the left. Jones advises getting out or stopping in a secure area and letting them go if it persists.
The “2025 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule” establishes base fines that increased quickly in 2025. The reported totals for a first citation, including assessments and court fees, are around:
- $208: between 1–15 mph over the limit.
- $367: between 16–25 mph over the limit.
- $490: 26+ mph over the limit.
The safest driving rule: slow down and follow the law
If you want to avoid any tickets, the best advice is to simply: follow the rules!
Respect the speed limit, move to the right to let faster traffic pass, slow down in bad weather, and move away from aggressive drivers.
The original purpose of traffic laws was to protect both those behind the wheel and those around them. Convenient enough, tickets—and the financial penalties—seem to be the easiest way for the law to get people to think about it.