Nebraska Speeding Laws

Basic Speed Law: A person shall not operate a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing. NEBR § 60-6,185

Penalty for Exceeding Speed Limit

A first time violator may be:

• fined between $10 and $200, and
• the violator’s license may be revoked for six months.

Penalty for Reckless Driving

A first time violator may be:

• fined not more than $500,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than three months, and
• the violator’s license may be revoked for six months.

Speed Limits

• 75 MPH on State freeways and Federal interstate highways
• 65 MPH on a State expressway
• 60 MPH on other State highways '60-6,186(1)(e)(II)
• 55 MPH upon any dustless-surfaced highway not part of the State highway system
• 50 MPH upon a non dustless-surfaced highway not part of the State highway system
• 25 MPH in a residential district
• 20 MPH in a business district

Nebraska Speeding Laws

Nebraska has what is known as an “absolute” speed limit law. There is no trick to how this works: If the sign says 40 mph and you drive 41 mph or more, you have violated the law. In other words, you are guilty if you drive over the speed limit. In Nebraska you may be able to make three possible defenses:

• Attacking the officer’s determination of your speed. To do this you must discover what method the officer used to cite you and then learn about the ways to attack that particular method.
• Claiming an emergency forced you to exceed the speed limit to avoid serious damage or injury to yourself or others.
• Claiming that the officer mistook your car for another car. With so many similar-looking cars, it is possible that a cop could see a speeding car, lose sight of it around a corner, and then wrongly pick out your car farther down the road.

Note that in Nebraska you can be ticketed for driving at an unsafe speed, even if that speed does not violate the posted limit -- for example, driving exactly at the maximum mph posted limit on the freeway amidst slower and heavy traffic, in a dense fog, or in a driving rainstorm or blizzard.

Point System

If an offender accumulates 12 points within 2 years, their license is revoked for 6 months and they must attend a driver education and training course for at least 8 hours. If the offense involved incarceration, the license revocation begins after the offender is released from such confinement. An offender less than 21 years old, who accumulates 6 points within 12 months, must attend an 8-hour driver improvement course.

If they fail to attend this course, their license is suspended until either they complete the course or they reach the age of 21. Points have been assigned as follows: Willful reckless driving-6 points; reckless driving-5 points; careless driving-4 points; speeding less than 5 MPH over the speed limit-1 point; speeding more than 5 MPH but less than 10 MPH over the speed limit-2 points; speeding more than 10 MPH over the speed limit-3 points; and, for other violations-1 point.

However, on highways with maximum speed limits of either 60, 65 or 75 MPH, the following points have been assigned for speeding violations: For exceeding the speed limit by less than 10 MPH-1 point; for exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 MPH but less than 15 MPH-2 points; and, for exceeding the speed limit by more than 15 MPH-3 points.