Increase Permissible Interstate Speed Limit.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 112

Short Title: Increase Permissible Interstate Speed Limit. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Lowery, Biggs, and Chesser (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Transportation, if favorable, State and Local Government, if favorable, Judiciary
1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 13, 2025
*H112-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE SPEED LIMIT ON INTERSTATE 2
HIGHWAYS AND TO MAKE VARIOUS CONFORMING CHANGES. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
5
PART I. INCREASE MAX IMUM PERMISSIBLE SPE ED LIMIT ON INTERSTA TE 6
HIGHWAYS 7
SECTION 1. G.S. 20-141(d) reads as rewritten: 8
"(d) (1) Whenever the Department of Transportation determines on the basis of an 9
engineering and traffic investigation that any speed allowed by subsection (b) 10
is greater than is reasonable and safe under the conditions found to exist upon 11
any part of a highway outside the corporate limits of a municipality or upon 12
any part of a highway designated as part of the Interstate Highway System or 13
any part of a controlled-access highway (either inside or outside the corporate 14
limits of a municipality), the Department of Transportation shall determine 15
and declare a reasonable and safe speed limit. 16
(2) Whenever the Department of Transportation determines on the basis of an 17
engineering and traffic investigation that a higher maximum speed than those 18
set forth in subsection (b) is reasonable and safe under the conditions found to 19
exist upon any part of a highway designated as part of the Interstate Highway 20
System or any part of a controlled-access highway (either inside or outside the 21
corporate limits of a municipality) the Department of Transportation shall 22
determine and declare a reasonable and safe speed limit. A speed limit set 23
pursuant to this subsection may not exceed 70 75 miles per hour. 24
Speed limits set pu rsuant to this subsection are not effective until appropriate signs giving 25
notice thereof are erected upon the parts of the highway affected." 26
27
PART II. CONFORMING CHANGES 28
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 20-141(j1) reads as rewritten: 29
"(j1) A person who drives a vehicle on a highway at a speed that is either is (i) more than 30
15 miles per hour more than the speed limit established by law for the highway where the offense 31
occurred or occurred, (ii) over 80 miles per hour where the maximum speed is up to 70 miles per 32
hour, or (iii) over 85 miles per hour where the maximum speed is 7 5 miles per hour is guilty of 33
a Class 3 misdemeanor." 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 112-First Edition
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 20-16 reads as rewritten: 1
"§ 20-16. Authority of Division to suspend license. 2
(a) The Division shall have authority to suspend the license of any operator with or 3
without a preliminary hearing upon a showing by its records or other satisfactory evidence that 4
the licensee: 5
… 6
(10a) Has been convicted of operating a motor vehicle at a speed in excess of 80 7
miles per hour on a public highway where the maximum speed is 70 miles per 8
hour; or 9
(10b) Has been convicted of operating a motor vehicle at a speed in excess of 85 10
miles per hour on a public highway where the maximum speed is 75 miles per 11
hour; or 12
… 13
(c) The Division shall maintain a record of convictions of every person licensed or 14
required to be licensed under the provisions of this Article as an operator and shall enter therein 15
records of all convictions of such persons for any violation of the motor vehicle laws of this State 16
and shall assign to the record of such person, as of the date of commission of the offense, a 17
number of points for every such conviction in accordance with the following schedule of 18
convictions and points, except that points shall not be assessed for convictions resulting in 19
suspensions or revocations under other provisions of laws: Further, any points heretofore charged 20
for violation of the motor vehicle inspection laws shall not be considered by the Division of 21
Motor Vehicles as a basis for suspension or revocation of driver's license: 22
… 23
In the discretion of the Division, a period of probation not to exceed one year may be 24
substituted for suspension or for any unexpired period of suspension under subsections (a)(1) 25
through (a)(10a) (a)(10b) of this section. Any violation of probation during the probation period 26
shall result in a suspension for the unexpired remainder of the suspension period. Any 27
accumulation of three or more points under this subsection during a period of probation shall 28
constitute a violation of the condition of probation. 29
(d) Upon suspending the license of any person as authorized in this section, the Division 30
shall immediately notify the licensee in writing and upon his request shall afford him an 31
opportunity for a hearing, not to exceed 60 days after receipt of the request, unless a preliminary 32
hearing was held before his license was suspended. Upon such hearing the duly authorized agents 33
of the Division may administer oaths and may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses 34
and the production of relevant books and papers and may require a reexamination of the licensee. 35
Upon such hearing the Division shall either rescind its order of suspension, or good cause 36
appearing therefor, may extend the suspension of such license. Provi ded further upon such 37
hearing, preliminary or otherwise, involving subsections (a)(1) through (a)(10a) (a)(10b) of this 38
section, the Division may for good cause appearing in its discretion substitute a period of 39
probation not to exceed one year for the sus pension or for any unexpired period of suspension. 40
Probation shall mean any written agreement between the suspended driver and a duly authorized 41
representative of the Division and such period of probation shall not exceed one year, and any 42
violation of the probation agreement during the probation period shall result in a suspension for 43
the unexpired remainder of the suspension period. The authorized agents of the Division shall 44
have the same powers in connection with a preliminary hearing prior to suspensio n as this 45
subsection provided in connection with hearings held after suspension. These agents shall also 46
have the authority to take possession of a surrendered license on behalf of the Division if the 47
suspension is upheld and the licensee requests that the suspension begin immediately. 48
… 49
(e1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, if the Division suspends the 50
license of an operator pursuant to subdivisions (a)(9), (a)(10), or (a)(10a) (a)(10a), or (a)(10b) of 51
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 112-First Edition Page 3
this section, upon the first suspension only, a district court judge may allow the licensee a limited 1
driving privilege or license for a period not to exceed 12 months, provided he has not been 2
convicted of any other motor vehicle moving violation within the previous 12 months. The 3
limited driving privilege shall be issued in the same manner and under the terms and conditions 4
prescribed in G.S. 20-16.1(b)(1), (2), (3), (4), and (5). 5
…." 6
SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 20-16.1(a) reads as rewritten: 7
"(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, the Division shall suspend for a 8
period of 30 days the license of any driver without preliminary hearing on receiving a record of 9
the driver's conviction of either (i) exceeding by more than 15 miles per hour the speed limit, 10
either within or outside the corporate limits of a municipality, if the person was also driving at a 11
speed in excess of 55 miles per hour at the time of the offense, or (ii) driving at a speed in excess 12
of 80 miles per hour where the maximum speed is up to 70 miles per hour at the time of the 13
offense.offense, or (iii) driving at a speed in excess of 85 or greater miles per hour where the 14
maximum speed is 75 miles per hour at the time of the offense." 15
SECTION 2.(d) This section becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to 16
offenses committed on or after that date. 17
18
PART III. SAVINGS CLAUSE 19
SECTION 3. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this 20
act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act 21
remain applicable to those prosecutions. 22
23
PART IV. EFFECTIVE CLAUSE 24
SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 25
law. 26