Texas Transportation Code §545.351: the "reasonable and prudent" speed rule and Texas speed limits

The short answer

Texas Transportation Code §545.351(a) says "An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing" (Transp. Code §545.351). Section 545.352 sets the default limits, such as 30 miles per hour in an urban district and 70 miles per hour on a numbered highway outside an urban district, and makes a speed over a limit "prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent and that the speed is unlawful" (§545.352). On a Texas crash report, an officer's opinion about speed is recorded as contributing factor code 22, 60 or 61 (TxDOT code sheet CR-3CS).

This entry provides general informational guidance and is not legal advice.

Key facts (as of October 29, 2026)

• Reasonable and prudent. No driver may go faster than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances, whatever the posted limit (§545.351(a)).
• Slow down for hazards. An appropriate reduced speed is required at intersections and railroad crossings, curves, hill crests, narrow or winding roads and special hazards (§545.351(c)).
• Default limits. 30 miles per hour in an urban district and 15 in an alley; 70 on a numbered highway and 60 on other highways outside an urban district (§545.352(b)).
• Who changes them. The Texas Transportation Commission, county commissioners courts and city governing bodies can alter limits, generally after an engineering and traffic investigation (§§545.353, 545.355, 545.356).
• On the crash report. Codes 22, Failed to Control Speed, 60, Unsafe Speed, and 61, Speeding - (Over Limit), are in list 38 (CR-3CS).
• Last amended in 2023. The history line for §545.353 lists Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., ch. 427 (H.B. 1885) as its most recent amendment; §545.351 has not been amended since 1997.

What does §545.351 say?

The official text of Tex. Transp. Code §545.351, as published by the Texas Legislature:

Sec. 545.351. MAXIMUM SPEED REQUIREMENT. (a) An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing.

(b) An operator:

(1) may not drive a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for actual and potential hazards then existing; and

(2) shall control the speed of the vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with another person or vehicle that is on or entering the highway in compliance with law and the duty of each person to use due care.

(c) An operator shall, consistent with Subsections (a) and (b), drive at an appropriate reduced speed if:

(1) the operator is approaching and crossing an intersection or railroad grade crossing;

(2) the operator is approaching and going around a curve;

(3) the operator is approaching a hill crest;

(4) the operator is traveling on a narrow or winding roadway; and

(5) a special hazard exists with regard to traffic, including pedestrians, or weather or highway conditions.

Source: Tex. Transp. Code §545.351, statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Text last checked October 29, 2026.

What does §545.352 say?

The first two subsections of §545.352:

Sec. 545.352. PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMITS. (a) A speed in excess of the limits established by Subsection (b) or under another provision of this subchapter is prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent and that the speed is unlawful.

(b) Unless a special hazard exists that requires a slower speed for compliance with Section 545.351(b), the following speeds are lawful:

(1) 30 miles per hour in an urban district on a street other than an alley and 15 miles per hour in an alley;

(2) except as provided by Subdivision (4), 70 miles per hour on a highway numbered by this state or the United States outside an urban district, including a farm-to-market or ranch-to-market road;

(3) except as provided by Subdivision (4), 60 miles per hour on a highway that is outside an urban district and not a highway numbered by this state or the United States;

Subdivision (4) sets lower limits for school buses outside an urban district, and subdivisions (5) and (6) set 15 miles per hour on a beach and, if the commissioners court declares it, on a county road adjacent to a public beach. Section 545.352(d)(3) defines an "urban district" as "the territory adjacent to and including a highway, if the territory is improved with structures that are used for business, industry, or dwelling houses and are located at intervals of less than 100 feet for a distance of at least one-quarter mile on either side of the highway" (§545.352).

What does it mean in plain language?

• The limit is not the only rule. Section 545.351 applies at every speed. A driver under the posted limit can still be going faster than is reasonable and prudent for the traffic, the weather, the road or a hazard ahead.
• Control speed to avoid a collision. Subsection (b)(2) requires a driver to control speed as necessary to avoid colliding with another person or vehicle that is lawfully on or entering the highway.
• Five places to slow down. Subsection (c) lists intersections and railroad grade crossings, curves, hill crests, narrow or winding roads, and special hazards involving traffic, pedestrians, weather or highway conditions.
• "Prima facie." Under §545.352(a), a speed over a limit is prima facie evidence that the speed was not reasonable and prudent and that it was unlawful; the section uses that term without defining it. Section 545.352(b) also says the listed speeds are lawful only "Unless a special hazard exists that requires a slower speed".
• Same limit day and night. An entity that establishes or alters a speed limit under the subchapter "shall establish the same speed limit for daytime and nighttime" (§545.352(e)).
• A traffic offense. Chapter 545 is part of the rules of the road; failing to perform an act the subtitle requires is an offense, generally a misdemeanor (§542.301).

Who can change a speed limit?

• The Texas Transportation Commission. If an engineering and traffic investigation shows a prima facie limit is unreasonable or unsafe on part of the highway system, the commission may declare a reasonable and safe limit, and another for wet or inclement weather. It may set 75 miles per hour where reasonable and safe, 80 on parts of Interstate 10 or 20 in ten listed counties, and up to 85 on a part of the system designed for that speed, after an investigation (§545.353). Its authority applies "both inside and outside the limits of a municipality, including a home-rule municipality, for a limited-access or controlled-access highway" (§545.353(f)(2)).
• County commissioners courts. For county roads outside a city and off the state highway system, a commissioners court has the same authority to increase limits after an investigation, and may lower them, but may not modify the rule in §545.351(a) or set a limit over 70 miles per hour (§545.355).
• Cities. "The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or part of a highway in the municipality, including a highway of the state highway system, has the same authority to alter by ordinance prima facie speed limits from the results of an engineering and traffic investigation as the Texas Transportation Commission", and may not modify §545.351(a) or set a limit over 75 miles per hour. On a two-lane, undivided street that is not part of the state highway system, a city may declare a lower limit of not less than 25 miles per hour (§545.356).
• Crash reconstruction sites. A city or county may let a designated official temporarily lower the limit at the site of an investigation using vehicular collision reconstruction, with notice to TxDOT at least 48 hours before the temporary signs are posted (§545.3561).

How does a crash report record speed?

• Three codes. In list 38 of the code sheet, code 22 is "Failed to Control Speed", code 60 is "Unsafe Speed" and code 61 is "Speeding - (Over Limit)" (CR-3CS, 4/1/2023).
• How TxDOT defines them. TxDOT's CR-100 instructions describe code 22 as when an operator "fails to control the speed of a vehicle as necessary to avoid colliding with another person or vehicle that is on or entering the highway in compliance with law and the duty of each person to use due care", citing "Section 545.351(b)"; code 60 as when an operator "fails to drive at an appropriate reduced speed that is reasonable and prudent under existing circumstances with regard to traffic, including pedestrians, weather or roadway conditions", citing "Section 545.351 (c)"; and code 61 as when an operator "is traveling over the posted speed limit and it contributes to the crash", citing §§545.352 and 545.353 (CR-100).
• One speed code per unit. The CR-100 notes: "Factors 22, 60, and 61 cannot apply to the same unit."
• An opinion, not a charge. The contributing factors on a CR-3 are the investigating officer's opinion. The guide to reading a Texas crash report explains the other fields and code lists.
• Civil claims are separate. A speed rule says what a driver must do. Sections 545.351 and 545.352 do not say whether or how a violation matters in a civil injury claim; Texas's rules on dividing responsibility among the people involved are in chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which the §33.001 entry quotes. Reckless driving and street racing are covered in the §545.401 entry.

What applies in Houston and Harris County?

• Statewide rule. Sections 545.351 and 545.352 apply on Houston streets and Harris County roads and freeways as everywhere in Texas.
• City of Houston limits. A posted limit on a Houston street can differ from the §545.352 default because §545.356 lets a city alter limits by ordinance. This entry does not list the City of Houston's posted limits; the sign on the road shows the limit there.
• A Harris County rule. "The commissioners court of a county with a population of more than 2.8 million may establish from the results of an engineering and traffic investigation a speed limit of not more than 75 miles per hour on any part of a highway of that county that is a limited-access or controlled-access highway, regardless of the location of the part of the highway" (§545.355(e)). In Texas codes, "population" means "the population shown by the most recent federal decennial census" (Gov't Code §311.005(3)), which applies to the Transportation Code (Transp. Code §1.002); Harris County's 2020 census population was 4,731,145 (U.S. Census Bureau).
• Same crash report. A crash investigated by the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff's Office or another agency is reported on the same CR-3 form; the Houston crash report guide lists how each local agency says to request a copy.

When was this checked, and can it change?

The text above was last checked on October 29, 2026, against the official text published by the Texas Legislature, and the TxDOT code sheet and instructions were read the same day. The Legislature can amend a statute in any session. It convenes in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year (Gov't Code §301.001), so the next regular session begins on January 12, 2027. This entry is scheduled to be rechecked against the official text by April 2027 and again after the 2027 regular session ends.

Related guides

• What to do after a car accident in Texas
• How to read a Texas crash report (CR-3)
• Following distance: the §545.062 entry
• Reckless driving and street racing: the §545.401 entry
• Proportionate responsibility: the §33.001 entry
• Houston's highest-injury roads: crash data
• Texas car crash law reference: all entries
• Car accident information for Houston

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