Did you know this about speed limit signs?
One day, coming out of Greybull and heading toward Basin, I started thinking about the speed signs: you go up the viaduct at 30 mph; in the distance, you see a 45 mph sign; beyond that, a 70 mph sign.
For some reason, I thought that if you could see the sign, you could increase your speed, so you are already at the speed on the sign when you get to it. So in the case of Greybull heading south: when you hit the top of the hill in Greybull, you are going 30 mph, but because you can see the next sign (45 mph), you can start accelerating.
Since we have such friendly Wyoming Highway Patrol Troopers, I called one up to verify. Oh, dear. As it turns out, legally, you aren’t supposed to increase your speed until you reach the sign with the higher limit. The speed zones are from sign-to-sign. Whoops. But hey — never claimed to be smart.
While searching for the answer, a couple other questions came up and inquiring minds want to know: Did you know that you aren’t supposed to pass a vehicle unless it is going under the posted speed limit?
Did you also know, when passing, that you may only accelerate to 10-miles over the posted speed limit?
How about this… if you are pulling a trailer, you aren’t allowed that extra 10 mph to pass. You can only pass if you can do so at the posted speed limit.
And finally, but at least one I already knew, did you know that you are supposed to keep right except to pass? Yes, even if there are no other vehicles around. How many times have you been on a multi-lane highway only to see a vehicle just hanging out in the left lane, or on the stretches of highway that have passing lanes? Did you know you can get a ticket if it is posted to stay right except to pass?
We all know now.