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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6590
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4654
Referred to Committee on TRANSPORTATION
Introduced by:
(TRA)
AN ACT CONCERNING SP EED LIMITS IN MUNICIPALITIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 14-218a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle upon any public 3
highway of the state, or road of any specially chartered municipal 4
association or any district organized under the provisions of chapter 5
105, a purpose of which is the construction and maintenance of roads 6
and sidewalks, or on any parking area as defined in section 14-212, or 7
upon a private road on which a speed limit has been established in 8
accordance with this [subsection] section, or upon any school property, 9
at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable, having regard to the 10
width, traffic and use of highway, road or parking area, the 11
intersection of streets and weather conditions. The Office of the State 12
Traffic Administration may determine speed limits which are 13
reasonable and safe on any state highway, bridge or parkway built or 14
maintained by the state, and differing limits may be established for 15
different types of vehicles, and may erect or cause to be erected signs 16 Committee Bill No. 6590
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indicating such speed limits. 17
(b) (1) The traffic authority of any town, city or borough may 18
establish speed limits on streets, highways and bridges or in any 19
parking area for ten cars or more or on any private road wholly within 20
the municipality under its jurisdiction; provided (A) such speed limit 21
on streets, highways, bridges and parking areas for ten cars or more 22
shall become effective, except as provided in subdivision (2) of this 23
subsection, only after application for approval thereof has been 24
submitted in writing to the Office of the State Traffic Administration 25
and a certificate of such approval has been forwarded by the office to 26
the traffic authority; [and provided such] (B) signs giving notice of 27
such speed limits shall have been erected as the Office of the State 28
Traffic Administration directs; [, provided] and (C) the erection of such 29
signs on any private road shall be at the expense of the owner of such 30
road. The presence of such signs adjacent to or on the highway or 31
parking area for ten cars or more shall be prima facie evidence that 32
they have been so placed under the direction of and with the approval 33
of the Office of the State Traffic Administration. Approval of such 34
speed limits may be revoked by the Office of the State Traffic 35
Administration at any time if said office deems such revocation to be 36
in the interest of public safety and welfare, and thereupon such speed 37
limits shall cease to be effective and any signs that have been erected 38
shall be removed. 39
(2) The traffic authority of any town, city or borough may reduce a 40
speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour or lower that has been 41
approved by the Office of the State Traffic Administration on streets, 42
highways and bridges or in any parking area for ten cars or more or on 43
any private road wholly within the municipality under its jurisdiction 44
by not more than fifteen miles per hour, provided such traffic 45
authority (A) holds a public hearing regarding the proposed lower 46
speed limit, and (B) notifies the Office of the State Traffic 47
Administration of the lower speed limit. 48
(c) Any speed in excess of [such limits] a speed limit that has been 49 Committee Bill No. 6590
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established in accordance with this section, other than speeding as 50
provided for in section 14-219, as amended by this act, shall be prima 51
facie evidence that such speed is not reasonable, but the fact that the 52
speed of a vehicle is lower than such [limits] speed limit shall not 53
relieve the operator from the duty to decrease speed when a special 54
hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of 55
weather or highway conditions. 56
[(b)] (d) The Office of the State Traffic Administration shall establish 57
a speed limit of sixty-five miles per hour on any multiple lane, limited 58
access highways that are suitable for a speed limit of sixty-five miles 59
per hour, taking into consideration relevant factors including design, 60
population of area and traffic flow. 61
[(c)] (e) Any person who operates a motor vehicle at a greater rate of 62
speed than is reasonable, other than speeding [,] as provided for in 63
section 14-219, as amended by this act, shall commit the infraction of 64
traveling unreasonably fast. 65
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 14-36 of the general statutes is 66
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 67
October 1, 2019): 68
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and section 14-40a, 69
no person shall operate a motor vehicle on any public highway of this 70
state or private road on which a speed limit has been established in 71
accordance with [subsection (a) of] section 14-218a, as amended by this 72
act, until such person has obtained a motor vehicle operator's license. 73
Sec. 3. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 14-219 of the general 74
statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 75
(Effective October 1, 2019): 76
(a) No person shall operate any motor vehicle (1) upon any 77
highway, road or any parking area for ten cars or more, at such a rate 78
of speed as to endanger the life of any occupant of such motor vehicle, 79
but not the life of any other person than such an occupant; (2) at a rate 80 Committee Bill No. 6590
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of speed greater than fifty-five miles per hour upon any highway other 81
than a highway specified in subsection [(b)] (d) of section 14-218a, as 82
amended by this act, for which a speed limit has been established in 83
accordance with the provisions of said subsection; (3) at a rate of speed 84
greater than sixty-five miles per hour upon any highway specified in 85
subsection [(b)] (d) of section 14-218a, as amended by this act, for 86
which a speed limit has been established in accordance with the 87
provisions of said subsection; or (4) if such person is under eighteen 88
years of age, upon any highway or road for which a speed limit of less 89
than sixty-five miles per hour has been established in accordance with 90
subsection (a) or (b) of section 14-218a, as amended by this act, at a rate 91
of speed more than twenty miles per hour above such speed limit. 92
(b) Any person who operates a motor vehicle (1) on a multiple lane, 93
limited access highway other than a highway specified in subsection 94
[(b)] (d) of section 14-218a, as amended by this act, for which a speed 95
limit has been established in accordance with the provisions of said 96
subsection at a rate of speed greater than fifty-five miles per hour but 97
not greater than seventy miles per hour, (2) on a multiple lane, limited 98
access highway specified in subsection [(b)] (d) of section 14-218a, as 99
amended by this act, for which a speed limit has been established in 100
accordance with the provisions of said subsection at a rate of speed 101
greater than sixty-five miles per hour but not greater than seventy 102
miles per hour, (3) on any other highway at a rate of speed greater than 103
fifty-five miles per hour but not greater than sixty miles per hour, or 104
(4) if such person is under eighteen years of age, upon any highway or 105
road for which a speed limit of less than sixty-five miles per hour has 106
been established in accordance with subsection (a) or (b) of section 14-107
218a, as amended by this act, at a rate of speed more than twenty miles 108
per hour above such speed limit, shall commit an infraction, provided 109
any such person operating a truck, as defined in section 14-260n, shall 110
have committed a violation and shall be fined not less than one 111
hundred dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars. 112 Committee Bill No. 6590
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 14-218a
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 14-36(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 14-219(a) and (b)
TRA Joint Favorable