Speed limitNorway
Traffic rules
Norway
4. Speed limit
A speed limit is the maximum legal speed permitted on a road, lane or within a designated area. It may be established by general traffic law or indicated by fixed, variable or temporary traffic signs.
A speed limit is a maximum, not a target speed. Drivers must travel more slowly whenever traffic, visibility, weather, road conditions, vulnerable road users or the condition of the vehicle make the maximum permitted speed unsafe.
Wikimedia.org • Jan-Tore Egge • CC BY-SA
Which general speed limits should car drivers know in Norway?
The general limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside them, unless another limit is signed. Motorway and main-road limits depend on the signed section; do not infer 110 km/h merely from the road looking like a motorway. Vehicle-specific and towing restrictions may also apply.
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian signing regulation — current sign catalogue, markings and signals
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian Road Traffic Act — sections 3 and 6
Can Norway’s unsigned general limits apply without a speed sign?
Yes. The general limits of 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside them apply unless another limit has been established. The absence of a numerical roadside sign is not permission to drive without a maximum.
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian signing regulation — current sign catalogue, markings and signals
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian Road Traffic Act — sections 3 and 6
Start of a speed limit.
English • Traffic sign 362 • Speed limit. Driving faster than the stated speed in km/h is prohibited. Applies on the section until a new 362 speed limit sign, 366 speed limit zone sign, 364 end-of-special-speed-limit sign, 540 residential area sign or 548 pedestrian street sign. May have a yellow background when used for temporary regulation.
Norsk bokmål • Skilt 362 • Fartsgrense. Forbudet gjelder kjøring med høyere fart enn angitt antall km/t. Forbudet gjelder på vedkommende vegstrekning fram til annen fartsgrense er angitt ved a) nytt skilt 362 «Fartsgrense» eller b) skilt 366 «Fartsgrensesone» eller til der ett av følgende skilt er satt opp: c) skilt 364 «Slutt på særskilt fartsgrense» d) skilt 540 «Gatetun» e) skilt 548 «Gågate». Når skiltet nyttes til midlertidig regulering, kan det ha gul bunnfarge.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Lovdata.no • Skiltforskriften § 8
SVG source: Peter J. Acklam converted the original EPS file to PDF with Ghostscript and the PDF file to SVG with Inkscape. • Public domain • Original revision 2008-08-04. Wikimedia original unmodified.
End of the speed limit.
English • Traffic sign 364 • End of special speed limit.
Norsk bokmål • Skilt 364 • Slutt på særskilt fartsgrense.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Lovdata.no • Skiltforskriften § 8
SVG source: Peter J. Acklam converted the original EPS file to PDF with Ghostscript and the PDF file to SVG with Inkscape. • Public domain • Original revision 2008-08-04. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Does staying below the Norwegian limit always satisfy the speed rule?
No. The Road Traffic Act requires drivers to adapt speed to the place, surface, visibility and traffic conditions. You must retain control and be able to stop for a foreseeable obstacle, even when that requires driving below the signed maximum.
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian signing regulation — current sign catalogue, markings and signals
🔗 lovdata.no • Norwegian Road Traffic Act — sections 3 and 6
