Nevada Speeding Laws

Basic Speed Law: A person shall not drive a vehicle greater than is reasonable or proper, having due regard for the traffic, surface and width of the highway, the weather and other highway conditions.

Penalty for Exceeding Speed Limit

A first time violator may be:

• fined not more than $1,000,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than six months, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended not more than one year.

Penalty for Reckless Driving

A first time violator may be:

• fined not more than $1000,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than six months, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended not more than one year.

Speed Limits

• A person shall not operate any vehicle at a speed more than 75 MPH
• A person shall not operate a motor vehicle more than 15 MPH in a school zone or more than 25 MPH in school crossing zone

Nevada Speeding Laws

Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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 a person, who for the first time, accumulates 12 points within 12 months, their license is suspended for 6 months. If within 3 years, a person has a second accumulation of 12 points within 12 months, their license is suspended for 1 year. Likewise, if within 5 years, a person has a third accumulation of 12 points within 12 months, their license is suspended for 1 year. 

The following points have been assigned to speeding or speed related violations: Reckless driving-8 points; speeding in school zone more than 16 MPH over the limit-6 points; speeding in school zone more than 1 but less than 15 MPH over the limit-4 points; speeding more than 21 MPH over the posed speed limit-4 points; speeding more than 15 MPH over the speed limit in a vehicle used for commercial purposes-4 points; speeding more than 16 MPH but less than 20 MPH over the speed limit-3 points; speeding more than 11 MPH but less than 15 MPH over the speed limit-2 points; excessive speeding for the conditions-2 points; and, speeding more than1 MPH but less than 10 MPH over the speed limit-1 point.