Speed limits — Oregon Permit Test

Oregon's statutory speed limits apply to the specified areas whether posted or not, and they apply unless a different speed is posted.

The absence of a sign is not the absence of a limit. On an unposted street the number is already set, and not knowing it is no defense.

The following speed limits are set in law for the specified areas, whether posted or not. They apply unless a different speed is posted.

The speed limit is 15 mph when driving in alleys and in narrow residential areas.

These are the places where somebody steps out from between parked cars with no warning at all, and 15 mph is the speed that still allows a stop.

15 Miles Per Hour • When driving in alleys. • Narrow residential areas.

The speed limit is 20 mph in any business district and within a school speed zone.

Both are places where people cross mid-block rather than at corners, and the limit is set for the person who steps out rather than for the traffic.

20 Miles Per Hour • In any business district. • Within a school speed zone.

The speed limit is 25 mph in residential districts, in public parks, and on ocean shores where vehicles are permitted.

The ocean shore is the one drivers forget is a road at all, and it carries the same limit as the street outside a house.

25 Miles Per Hour • In residential districts. • In public parks. • On ocean shores, if vehicles are permitted.

The speed limit is 55 mph on all roads and highways not meeting any other definition, unless otherwise posted.

This is the default the law falls back to when no other category fits, which is why an unsigned rural road is not an open road.

55 Miles Per Hour • On all roads and highways not meeting any other definition unless otherwise posted.

The basic rule requires you to drive at a speed that is reasonable and cautious for existing conditions, and it applies on all roads at all times.

It is the rule that catches everything the posted numbers cannot — fog, a wet surface, a crowd — and it never switches off.

The basic rule states you must drive at a speed that is reasonable and cautious for existing conditions. The basic rule applies on all roads at all times.

Driving at a speed unsafe for existing conditions violates the basic rule even when that speed is below the posted limit, and the basic rule never permits driving above the posted limit.

The rule cuts one way only. Conditions can make the posted speed illegal, but they can never make an illegal speed acceptable.

If you drive at a speed that is unsafe for existing conditions in any area, at any time, even if it is slower than the speed limit, you are violating the basic rule.

A driver going slower than the normal speed of traffic must use the right lane or drive as close as possible to the right curb or edge of the road, unless preparing to turn left.

Slow traffic in a left lane forces everybody else to pass on the right, which is where the drivers who are not expecting it are.

If you drive slower than the normal speed of traffic, you must use the right lane or drive as closely as possible to the right curb or edge of the road, unless you are preparing to make a left turn.

It is illegal to race on any road, and racing includes any acceleration or speed contest or the making of a speed record.

The definition is wider than two cars lining up — a single vehicle timing itself is a speed record, and that is the offense.

It is illegal to race on any road. Racing can be any acceleration or speed contest or the making of a speed record.

When do Oregon's statutory speed limits apply?

To the areas named in law, whether or not a sign is posted. The absence of a sign is not the absence of a limit. On an unposted street the number is already set, and not knowing it is no defense. 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.19: “The following speed limits are set in law for the specified areas, whether posted or not. They apply unless a different speed is posted.”