In Oregon, you see a yellow digital sign reading "ADVISORY SPEED 35." You are driving 45 mph and the surrounding posted limit is 55 mph. Which statement best describes your legal exposure?
-
A.
You have exceeded the advisory speed by 10 mph, which is automatically a speeding ticket.
-
B.
Yellow advisory signs are only suggestions and carry no legal weight at all.
-
C.
An officer can cite you under the basic rule if your speed is unsafe for current conditions. Correct
-
D.
You can only be cited if your speed actually contributes to a crash.
The answer is "An officer can cite you under the basic rule if your speed is unsafe for current conditions."
Yellow variable advisory speed signs are not enforceable as their own speed limit; they recommend a safe speed for current conditions like heavy traffic, poor weather, or a slippery road. Police may still enforce the recommended speed through the basic rule, which says you must drive at a speed that is reasonable and cautious for existing conditions. The basic rule applies on all roads at all times and does not require a crash. Black-and-white variable speed limit signs are enforceable as the new speed limit; yellow advisory signs are not.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. You have exceeded the advisory speed by 10 mph, which is automatically a speeding ticket.
Yellow advisory signs are not standalone speed limits, so going above the advisory number is not, by itself, a speeding violation. Misreading: Treats the yellow advisory speed as an enforceable speed limit, but the manual says these are not speed limits.
B. Yellow advisory signs are only suggestions and carry no legal weight at all.
Although advisory signs are not speed limits, police may still enforce them through the basic rule when your speed is unsafe for conditions. Misreading: Ignores the manual's note that police may enforce yellow advisory signs through the basic rule law.
D. You can only be cited if your speed actually contributes to a crash.
The basic rule applies on all roads at all times. An officer can cite you for an unsafe speed for conditions whether or not a collision occurs. Misreading: Adds a crash requirement the basic rule does not have; the rule covers any unsafe speed for existing conditions, with or without a collision.
This question tests your knowledge of Speed Limits in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Speed Regulations: Variable Speed Signs," p.20..
Related Oregon questions
- In Oregon, what is the default speed limit in a residential district when no other speed is posted? →
- What is the speed limit inside an active Oregon school speed zone? →
- You're driving on a downtown street in any Oregon city, lined with shops and restaurants. There is no posted speed limit sign. What speed limit applies? →
- You're driving on an Oregon road that doesn't fit any of the standard categories: not residential, not business district, not interstate, not posted. What speed limit applies? →
- Oregon interstate speed limits: →
The Oregon book is on the way
Drop your email and we'll send the free Oregon cheat sheet now, plus a note the moment the book is available.