Oklahoma Speeding Laws

Basic Speed Law: A person shall drive a vehicle at a careful and prudent speed not greater than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface and width of the highway (turnpike) and any other conditions then existing. OKLA Title 47, §§ 11-801(A) & (D) and 11-1401(g)

Penalty for Exceeding Speed Limit

A first time violator may be:

• fined between $10 and $200,
• sentenced to jail time of between five to 30 days, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended not more than one year.

Penalty for Reckless Driving

A first time violator may be:

• fined between $25 and $500,
• sentenced to jail time of between five to 90 days, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended not more than one year.

Speed Limits

• 75 MPH on the turnpike system and designated segments of the rural interstate system
• 70 MPH on 4 lane highways or "super two-lane" highways
• 65 MPH on other highways
• 55 MPH on a county road
• 45 MPH in the State Capitol Park Area
• 35 MPH in a State park or wildlife refuge
• 25 MPH in a school zone on any highway outside of a municipality. However, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, based on engineering and traffic investigations, may establish school zone speed limits more than 25 MPH at specific locations.
• 25 MPH, or an established alternative speed limit, through State schools which are located on State owned land adjoining or outside the limits of a corporate city or town.

Oklahoma Speed Limits

Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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

The licensing agency usually takes suspension action suspension based upon a point system. Under this system, an offender's license is suspended when they accumulate 10 or more points. Suspension periods are determined by the number of prior suspensions as follows: A 1st suspension is for 1 months; a 2nd suspension is for 3 months; a 3rd suspension is for 6 months (mandatory); and a 4th or subsequent suspension is for 12 months (mandatory).

The following points have been assigned to speeding and speed related violations: Reckless driving-4 points; speeding more than 25 MPH over the speed limit-3 points; careless driving (Note: This is not listed as an offense under State statutory law.)-2 points; speeding-2 points; contest racing on the highway (Note: This is not listed as an offense under State statutory law.)-2 points; speeding in excess of the posted maximum speed limit-2 points; driving less than the minimum posted speed limit-2 points; speeding in a school zone-2 points; radar checked speed violation-2 points; airplane checked speed violation-2 points; Vascar-2 points; negligent driving (Note: This is not listed as an offense under State statutory law.)-1 point; operating a motor vehicle at a speed either greater than or less than is reasonable or proper-1 point; and impeding traffic and less than 40 MPH-1 point.