Road rules and safety

Speed limits

You must follow the speed limit shown on signs, or travel at the default speed limit when driving or riding.

Speed limits in Victoria

Speed limits are set throughout Victoria to keep drivers and road users safe.

There are various types of speed limit signs, including time-based signs and variable electronic signs.

You must travel at or below the speed shown on speed limit signs.

Where signs aren't displayed, a default speed limit is always in effect.

You may be fined if you ignore the law

Drivers and riders can both be fined or receive demerit points if caught travelling over the speed limit.

For excessive speeding, you may face harsher penalties like licence cancellation or suspension, and vehicle impoundment or immobilisation.

Visit Fines Victoria to learn more about penalties for speeding offences.

Default speed limits

Built-up areas and neighbourhoods (50km/h)

The default speed limit for roads in built-up areas in Victoria is 50km/h. This applies to all roads in suburban areas where there are no speed limit signs displayed.

Country roads (100km/h)

In rural Victoria, the default speed limit outside of built-up areas is 100 km/h. This applies to roads where there are no speed limit signs displayed.

Other speed zones

The following table provides an overview of typical speed limits for different road environments.

Speed limit	Application of speed limit
10 km/h	Shared zones where pedestrians have priority over vehicles along the road.
20 km/h	Car parks, recreational reserves and other similar areas where vehicles and pedestrians mix.
40 km/h	Activity Centres, including shopping precincts, and school zones (Learn more about school zones.) Local streets in built-up (urban and rural) areas.
50 km/h	Local streets in built-up (urban and rural) areas where streets are unsigned and use the state 'built-up area' default speed limit Rural and outer metropolitan town centres with low level pedestrian movement and kerbside parking.
60 km/h	Most undivided arterial roads in built-up (urban and rural) areas. Divided arterial roads in built-up (urban and rural) areas with a high number of access points or significant pedestrian or cyclist activity. Some higher movement classified local streets.
80 km/h	Divided arterial roads in built-up (urban and rural) areas with a limited number of access points, exclusive turn lanes and not a significant level of pedestrian or cyclist activity. Undivided roads on the urban/rural fringe, or township/rural fringe Rural roads with a high crash rate or an elevated risk of crashes due to narrow lanes, windy alignment or hazards such as many trees or steep edges. Roads through small rural settlements (hamlets) or sections with many access points. Freeways/motorways/tollways where there is an elevated risk of crashes and/or high-volume complex traffic movements.
100 km/h	Rural roads where there is no elevated risk of crashes. Rural roads where roads are unsigned and use the state 'outside built-up area' default speed limit. Freeways/motorways/tollways where there is no elevated risk of crashes.
110 km/h	High standard rural freeways/motorways/tollways.

Areas undergoing roadworks

Temporary speed limits are usually set up around roadworks to keep workers safe.

If you're approaching a roadworks speed sign, you must:

slow down to the speed shown on the sign
travel at or below the speed limit until you pass a sign showing a different speed limit.

The temporary speed limit applies even if you can't see roadworks being carried out.

Learn more about roadworks and driving safely.

Emergency and law enforcement scenes

If you're approaching law enforcement and emergency vehicles which are stationary or slow moving (less than 10 km/h), and have their lights and/or siren on, you must:

slow down to under 40km/h when passing the vehicle
remain at 40km/h until you're a safe distance from the scene.

Learn more about driving around law enforcement and emergency vehicles.

Rules for speed limits

The rules for speed limits and speed zones are published in Part 3 of the Road Safety Road Rules 2017.

Rule 20 - Obeying the speed-limit
Rule 21 - Speed-limit where a speed-limit sign applies
Rule 22 - Speed-limit in a speed-limited area
Rule 23 - Speed-limit in a school zone
Rule 24 - Speed-limit in a shared zone
Rule 25 - Speed-limit elsewhere

Speed limit reviews and guidelines

Having the right speed limit for each road can help prevent car crashes and make them less dangerous when they do happen. Speed limits and zones are reviewed on a case-by-case basis in response to community feedback or changes to the road environment.

The speed limits for each road is set by a team of experts who consider things like safety, how people use the road and what drivers expect.

The Department of Transport and Planning reviews all proposals to make sure it aligns with our speed zoning policy and speed zoning technical guidelines. The relevant council is responsible for assessing speed limits on local roads before a final review by Department of Transport and Planning.