highway speed restrictions; safety

HB2059 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� DEC 15 2025

REFERENCE TITLE:
highway speed restrictions; safety

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2059

Introduced by

Representative
Kupper

AN
ACT

Amending sections 28-701, 28-701.02,
28-702 and 28-702.01, Arizona Revised Statutes; Amending title 28, chapter 3,
article 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-702.02; Repealing
section 28-702.04, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 28, chapter
3, article 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding a new section 28-702.04;
relating to highway speed restrictions.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 28-701, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
28-701.

Reasonable and prudent speed; prima facie evidence; exceptions

A. A person shall not drive a vehicle on a highway
at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances,
conditions and actual and potential hazards then existing. A person
shall control the speed of a vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with any
object, person, vehicle or other conveyance on, entering or adjacent to the
highway in compliance with legal requirements and the duty of all persons to
exercise reasonable care for the protection of others.

B. Except as provided in subsections C and D of this
section or except if a special hazard
EXISTS that
requires
a lesser speed
for compliance with subsection A of this section
,
any speed in excess of the following speeds is prima facie evidence that the
speed is
too great and therefore unreasonable

not reasonable or prudent and that it is unlawful
:

1. Fifteen miles per hour approaching a school
crossing.

2. Twenty-five miles per hour in a business or
residential district.

3. Sixty-five miles per hour in other
locations.

C. The speed limits prescribed in this section may
be altered as authorized in sections 28-702
, 28-702.02, 28-702.04

and 28-703.

D. The maximum speed provided in this section is
reduced to the speed that is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and
with regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing, including the
following conditions:

1. Approaching and crossing an intersection or
railroad crossing.

2. Approaching and going around a curve.

3. Approaching a hillcrest.

4. Traveling on a narrow or winding roadway.

5. A special hazard exists with respect to
pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or highway conditions.

E. The maximum lawful speed provided
in this section does not apply to:

1. An emergency vehicle that is
operated in a manner described in section 28-624.

2. A vehicle that is operated on a
freeway designated as a derestricted speed zone pursuant to section 28-702.02
if the vehicle is operated in compliance with the requirements prescribed in
section 28-702.02.

E.

f.
A person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a
speed that is less than the speed that is reasonable and prudent under existing
conditions unless the speed that is reasonable and prudent exceeds the maximum
safe operating speed of the lawfully operated implement of husbandry.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 28-701.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
28-701.02.

Excessive speeds; violation; classification

A. A person shall not:

1. Exceed thirty-five miles per hour
approaching a school crossing.

2. Exceed the posted speed limit in a business or
residential district by more than twenty miles per hour, or if no speed limit
is posted, exceed forty-five miles per hour.

3. Exceed the posted speed limit by more than twenty
miles per hour in other locations.

b. This section does not apply to
vehicles operating in compliance with the requirements of a derestricted speed
zone designated pursuant to section 28-702.02 between thirty minutes
before sunrise until thirty minutes after sunset.

B.

c.
A
person who violates subsection A of this section is guilty of a class 3
misdemeanor.

C.

d.
A
person who is charged with a violation of this section may not be issued a
civil complaint for a violation of section 28-701 if the civil complaint
alleges a violation arising out of the same circumstances.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 28-702, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
28-702.

State highway speed limits

A. If the director determines on the basis of an
engineering and traffic investigation that
any

the
maximum speed limit
of eighty miles per hour

is greater or less than is reasonable or safe under the conditions found to
exist on any part of a state highway, the director may determine and declare a
reasonable and safe maximum speed limit or varying speed limits for the
location.

B. The maximum speed limit determined pursuant to
this section
or for a derestricted speed zone designated
pursuant to section 28-702.02
is effective when appropriate signs
giving notice of the maximum speed limit
or derestricted speed
zone
are erected.

C. The director may declare a maximum speed limit
that is determined pursuant to this section to be effective at all times or at
such times as indicated on the speed limit signs. The director may
establish varying speed limits for different times of day, different types of
vehicles, varying weather conditions and other factors bearing on safe
speeds. The varying limits are effective when posted on appropriate
fixed or variable signs.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 28-702.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
28-702.01.

Waste of a finite resource; civil penalties; urbanized areas;
exception; definition

A. If the maximum speed limit on a public highway in
this state is at least thirty miles per hour in an area that is outside of an
urbanized area, a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess
of the posted speed limit on that highway. If the maximum speed
limit on a public highway in this state is at least forty miles per hour in an
urbanized area, a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess
of the posted speed limit on that highway. If the speed at which the
person is alleged to have driven as provided in section 28-707,
subsection A or the speed at which the court finds the person drove is not more
than ten miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limit, the offense may be
designated as the waste of a finite resource and is a civil traffic violation
subject to subsection B of this section.

B. If a person is found responsible for a civil
traffic violation pursuant to subsection A of this section:

1. A department or agency of this state shall not
consider the violation for the purpose of determining whether the person's
driver license should be suspended or revoked and a court shall not transmit
abstracts of records of judgment for the violation to the department.

2. An insurer shall not consider the violation as a
moving traffic violation against the person for the purpose of establishing
rates of motor vehicle insurance charged by the insurer and shall not cancel or
refuse to renew a policy of insurance because of the violation.

3. The civil penalty shall not exceed $15 plus the
surcharges imposed pursuant to sections 12-116.01 and 12-116.02.

4. A report shall not be made under section 28-1559,
subsection B.

C. If the maximum speed limit on a public highway in
this state is at least thirty miles per hour in an area that is outside of an
urbanized area, a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess
of the posted speed limit on that highway. If the maximum speed
limit on a public highway in this state is at least forty miles per hour in an
urbanized area, a person shall not drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess
of the posted speed limit on that highway. If the speed at which the
person is alleged to have driven as provided in section 28-707,
subsection A or the speed at which the court finds the person drove is more
than ten miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limit, the offense is
designated as a civil traffic violation and the person is subject to a civil
penalty of not more than the amount provided in section 28-1598.

D. This
section does not apply to a state highway segment that is designated as a
derestricted speed zone pursuant to section 28-702.02 between thirty
minutes before sunrise until thirty minutes after sunset.

D.

E.
For the purposes of this section, "urbanized
area" has the same meaning prescribed in section 28-702.04.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Title 28, chapter 3, article 6, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-702.02, to read:

START_STATUTE
28-702.02.

Derestricted speed zones; designation; requirements; enforcement;
violation; civil penalties; definitions

A. The director may designate a
segment of a state highway as a derestricted speed zone where no maximum speed
limit applies to motor vehicles that are not commercial
vehicles. from thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes after
sunset if the segment meets the criteria prescribed by this section based on an
engineering and traffic investigation using existing department
data. during the thirty-minute period after sunset and the
thirty-minute period before sunrise, the maximum speed limit is eighty
miles per hour. The director may suspend or revoke a derestricted
speed zone designation if an engineering and traffic investigation indicates
increased safety risks or infrastructure deficiencies.

B. A segment of a state highway may
be designated as a derestricted speed zone for motor vehicles that are not
commercial vehicles if all of the following are met:

1. The state highway segment is
located outside an urbanized area with a population of fifty thousand or more
persons.

2. The state highway segment has a
crash rate below the statewide average for similar state highways based on the
most recent five years of data.

3. The state highway segment has
existing infrastructure that meets or exceeds standards established by an
association of state highway and transportation officials for high speed
travel.

C. In a derestricted speed zone, a
person shall:

1. Drive in the right-hand lane
except when passing another vehicle or preparing to exit the state highway.

2. Pass another vehicle only on the
left and return to the right-hand lane as soon as safely possible.

3. Yield to faster moving traffic by
moving to the right-hand lane when it is safe to do.

D. The director shall:

1. Erect signs using existing sign
inventory or federal highway monies where possible that clearly mark the
beginning and the end of the derestricted speed zone.

2. Suspend derestricted speed zone
designations with appropriate signage or variable message signs in work zones,
school zones or areas with temporary hazards or during inclement weather or
reduced visibility.

E. The department shall:

1. Conduct an annual safety audit of
designated derestricted speed zones as part of routine highway safety
evaluations. The audit shall include comparisons of data collected
before and after the designation of the state highway segment as a derestricted
speed zone, including crash rates, injury rates, fatality rates and enforcement
statistics on violations of this section and shall be submitted to the
president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives. The
department shall provide a copy of this audit to the secretary of state.

2. Implement a public education
campaign to inform drivers of derestricted speed zone requirements pursuant to
this section.

3. Coordinate with the department of
public safety to enforce this section.

F. For the purposes of enforcing
section 28-701 in a derestricted speed zone, either of the following
shall be prima facie evidence the speed is greater than is reasonable and
prudent if The speed is excessive given specific conditions, including weather
conditions, road conditions, traffic volume, visibility, a driver's reaction
time and the vehicle's mechanical condition.

G. notwithstanding section 28-1598, A
person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of at least:

1. $500 for a first offense.

2. $1,000 for a second offense within
one year.

H. the director shall designate An
initial derestricted speed zone for one year on interstate 8 as a pilot
program. the director shall designate the exact state highway
segment pursuant to the criteria prescribed by this section. Additional
state highway segments may be designed as derestricted speed zones after
evaluating the pilot program's safety data and subject to infrastructure
upgrades needed to meet the requirements of subsection B of this section.

I. For the purposes of this section:

1. "commercial vehicle"
means a bus, truck or truck trailer, trailer or semitrailer.

2. "urbanized area" has the
same meaning prescribed in section 28-702.04.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 6.
Repeal

Section 28-702.04, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is repealed.

Sec. 7. Title
28, chapter 3, article 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new
section 28-702.04, to read:

START_STATUTE
28-702.04.

Maximum speed limit on interstate highways outside urbanized
areas; civil traffic violation; civil penalty; definition

A. The
maximum speed limit for vehicles traveling on interstate highways outside of
urbanized areas with a population of fifty thousand or more persons is eighty
miles per hour except as provided in section 28-702.02.

B. The director may declare a
different maximum speed limit pursuant to section 28-702 or designate a
derestricted speed zone pursuant to section 28-702.02 based on findings from an
engineering and traffic investigation.

C. A violation of this section is a
civil traffic violation, and the person is subject to a civil penalty that does
not exceed the amount provided by section 28-1598.

D. For the purposes of this section,
"urbanized area" means an urbanized area as defined in the most
recent united states decennial census.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 8.
Short title

This act may be cited as the
"Reasonable and Prudent Interstate Driving (RAPID) Act".