Bill Text: MI HB5143 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Traffic control; speed restrictions; provision relating to establishment of speed limits; revise procedure and limits. Amends secs. 606, 627, 628 & 629 of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.606 et seq.).
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-07-14 - Printed Bill Filed 06/26/2009 [HB5143 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HB5143-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 5143
June 25, 2009, Introduced by Reps. Dean, Lipton, Huckleberry, Robert Jones, Geiss, Jackson, Johnson, Neumann, Terry Brown, Booher, Ball, Hildenbrand, Horn, Scripps, Opsommer, DeShazor, Hansen, Agema, Haveman, Valentine, Meekhof, Pearce, Lori and McMillin and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled
"Michigan vehicle code,"
by amending sections 606, 627, 628, and 629 (MCL 257.606, 257.627,
257.628, and 257.629), section 606 as amended by 1980 PA 518 and
sections 627, 628, and 629 as amended by 2006 PA 85.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
606. (1) The provisions of this This
chapter shall does
not
be considered to prevent prohibit
local authorities from doing
any of the following with respect to streets or highways under the
jurisdiction of the local authority and within the reasonable
exercise
of the its police power: from:
(a) Regulating the standing or parking of vehicles.
(b) Regulating the impoundment or immobilization of vehicles
whose owner has failed to answer 6 or more parking violation
notices or citations regarding illegal parking.
(c) Regulating traffic by means of police officers or traffic
control signals.
(d) Regulating or prohibiting processions or assemblages on
the highways or streets.
(e) Designating particular highways as 1-way highways and
requiring that all vehicles on those highways be moved in 1
specific direction.
(f) Regulating the speed of vehicles in public parks.
(g) Designating any highway as a through highway and requiring
that all vehicles stop before entering or crossing the through
highway; designating any intersection as a stop intersection and
requiring all vehicles to stop at 1 or more entrances to these
intersections; or designating intersections at which vehicular
traffic shall be required to yield the right of way at 1 or more
entrances to these intersections.
(h) Restricting the use of highways as authorized in section
726.
(i) Regulating the operation of bicycles and requiring the
registration and licensing of bicycles, including the requirement
of a registration fee.
(j) Regulating or prohibiting the turning of vehicles at
intersections.
(k) Increasing or decreasing the prima facie speed limits as
authorized in this act.
(l) Adopting other traffic regulations as are specifically
authorized by this chapter.
(2) A local authority shall not erect or maintain a stop sign
or traffic control device at a location so as to require the
traffic on any state trunk line highway to stop before entering or
crossing any intersecting highway unless approval in writing has
been first obtained from the director of the state transportation
department.
(3) An ordinance or regulation enacted under subsection
(1)(a),
(d), (e), (f), (g), (i), or (j) shall is not be enforceable
until signs giving notice of the local traffic regulations are
posted upon or at the entrance to the highway or street or part of
the highway or street affected, as may be most appropriate, and are
sufficiently legible as to be seen by an ordinarily observant
person.
The posting of signs giving the notice shall is not
be
required
for a local ordinance which that
does not differ from the
provisions of this act regulating the parking or standing of
vehicles; nor to ordinances of general application throughout the
jurisdiction
of the municipalities enacting the ordinances which
that prohibit, limit, or restrict all night parking or parking
during the early morning hours, if signs, approximately 3 feet by 4
feet, sufficiently legible as to be seen by an ordinarily observant
person, giving notice of these ordinances relating to all night
parking or parking during the early morning hours, are posted on
highways at the corporate limits of the municipality.
(4) A local authority, in providing by ordinance for the
impounding of any motor vehicle parked contrary to a local
ordinance, shall not require a bond or cash deposit by the owner of
the motor vehicle in excess of $500.00 in order to recover the
possession of the motor vehicle pending final adjudication of the
case.
Sec. 627. (1) A person operating a vehicle on a highway shall
operate that vehicle at a careful and prudent speed not greater
than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to
the traffic, surface, and width of the highway and of any other
condition then existing. A person shall not operate a vehicle upon
a highway at a speed greater than that which will permit a stop
within the assured, clear distance ahead.
(2) Except in those instances where a lower speed is specified
in this chapter or the speed is unsafe pursuant to subsection (1),
it is prima facie lawful for the operator of a vehicle to operate
that vehicle at a speed not exceeding the following, except when
this speed would be unsafe:
(a) 25 miles per hour on all highways in a business district
as that term is defined in section 5.
(b) 25 miles per hour in public parks unless a different speed
is
fixed and duly posted.
(c) 25 miles per hour on all highways or parts of highways
within the boundaries of land platted under the land division act,
1967 PA 288, MCL 560.101 to 560.293, or the condominium act, 1978
PA 59, MCL 559.101 to 559.276, unless a different speed is fixed
and posted.
(d) 25 miles per hour on a highway segment with 60 or more
vehicular access points within 1/2 mile.
(e) 35 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than
45 vehicular access points but no more than 59 vehicular access
points within 1/2 mile.
(f) 45 miles per hour on a highway segment with not less than
30 vehicular access points but no more than 44 vehicular access
points within 1/2 mile.
(3) It is prima facie unlawful for a person to exceed the
speed limits prescribed in subsection (2), except as provided in
section 629.
(4)
A person operating a vehicle in a mobile home park as
defined
in section 2 of the mobile home commission act, 1987 PA 96,
MCL
125.2302, shall operate that
vehicle at a careful and prudent
speed, not greater than a speed that is reasonable and proper,
having due regard for the traffic, surface, width of the roadway,
and all other conditions existing, and not greater than a speed
that permits a stop within the assured clear distance ahead. It is
prima facie unlawful for the operator of a vehicle to operate that
vehicle at a speed exceeding 15 miles an hour in a mobile home
park. As used in this subsection, "mobile home park" means that
term as defined in section 2 of the mobile home commission act,
1987 PA 96, MCL 125.2302.
(5) A person operating a passenger vehicle drawing another
vehicle or trailer shall not exceed the posted speed limit.
(6) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a person
operating a truck with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more, a
truck-tractor, a truck-tractor with a semi-trailer or trailer, or a
combination of these vehicles shall not exceed a speed of 55 miles
per hour on highways, streets, or freeways and shall not exceed a
speed of 35 miles per hour during the period when reduced loadings
are being enforced in accordance with this chapter. However, a
person operating a school bus, a truck, a truck-tractor, or a
truck-tractor with a semi-trailer or trailer described in this
subsection shall not exceed a speed of 60 miles per hour on a
freeway if the maximum speed limit on that freeway is 70 miles per
hour.
(7) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6), a person
operating a school bus shall not exceed the speed of 55 miles per
hour.
(8) The maximum rates of speeds allowed under this section are
subject to the maximum rate established under section 629b.
(9) A person operating a vehicle on a highway, when entering
and passing through a work zone described in section 79d(a) where a
normal lane or part of the lane of traffic has been closed due to
highway construction, maintenance, or surveying activities, shall
not exceed a speed of 45 miles per hour unless a different speed
limit is determined for that work zone by the state transportation
department, a county road commission, or a local authority, based
on accepted engineering practice. The state transportation
department, a county road commission, or a local authority shall
post speed limit signs in each work zone described in section
79d(a) that indicate the speed limit in that work zone and shall
identify that work zone with any other traffic control devices
necessary to conform to the Michigan manual of uniform traffic
control devices. A person shall not exceed a speed limit
established under this section or a speed limit established under
section 628 or 629.
(10) Subject to subsections (1) and (2)(c), speed limits
established
pursuant to under this section are not valid unless
properly posted. In the absence of a properly posted sign, the
speed
limit in effect shall be the general speed limit pursuant to
under section 628(1).
(11) Nothing in this section prevents the establishment of an
absolute
speed limit pursuant to under
section 628. Subject to
subsection
(1), an absolute speed limit established pursuant to
under section 628 supersedes a prima facie speed limit established
pursuant
to under this section.
(12)
Nothing in this This section shall be construed as
justification
to deny does not prohibit a
local authority from
conducting a traffic and engineering investigation as part of the
process for determining an absolute speed limit under this act.
(13) As used in this section, "vehicular access point" means a
driveway or intersecting roadway.
(14) A person who violates this section is responsible for a
civil infraction.
Sec.
628. (1) If Except as
otherwise provided in subsection
(3), if the state transportation department and the department of
state police jointly determine upon the basis of an engineering and
traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular traffic on a
state trunk line highway is greater or less than is reasonable or
safe under the conditions found to exist at an intersection or
other place or upon a part of the highway, the departments acting
jointly may determine and declare a reasonable and safe maximum or
minimum speed limit on that state trunk line highway or
intersection that shall be effective at the times determined when
appropriate signs giving notice of the speed limit are erected at
the intersection or other place or part of the highway. The maximum
speed limit on all highways or parts of highways upon which a
maximum speed limit is not otherwise fixed under this act is 55
miles per hour, which shall be known and may be referred to as the
"general speed limit".
(2)
If Except as otherwise
provided in subsection (3), if the
county road commission, the township board, and the department of
state police unanimously determine upon the basis of an engineering
and traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular traffic on a
county highway is greater or less than is reasonable or safe under
the conditions found to exist upon any part of the highway, then
acting unanimously they may establish a reasonable and safe maximum
or minimum speed limit on that county highway that is effective at
the times determined when appropriate signs giving notice of the
speed limit are erected on the highway. A township board that does
not wish to continue as part of the process provided by this
subsection
shall notify in writing the county road commission of
that fact in writing. As used in this subsection, "county road
commission" means the board of county road commissioners elected or
appointed under section 6 of chapter IV of 1909 PA 283, MCL 224.6,
or, in the case of a charter county with a population of 2,000,000
or more with an elected county executive that does not have a board
of county road commissioners, the county executive.
(3) If a city or village council and the department of state
police unanimously determine upon the basis of an engineering and
traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular traffic on a city
or village street is greater or less than is reasonable or safe
under the conditions found to exist upon any part of the street,
then acting unanimously they may establish a reasonable and safe
maximum or minimum speed limit on that street that is effective at
the times determined when appropriate signs giving notice of the
speed limit are erected on the street.
(4) (3)
If a superintendent of a school
district determines
that the speed of vehicular traffic on a state trunk line or county
highway, which is within 1,000 feet of a school in the school
district of which that person is the superintendent, is greater or
less than is reasonable or safe, the officials identified in
subsection
(1), or (2), or (3), as appropriate,
shall include the
superintendent of the school district affected in acting jointly in
determining and declaring a reasonable and safe maximum or minimum
speed limit on that state trunk line or county highway.
(5) (4)
In the case of a county highway of
not less than 1
mile with residential lots with road frontage of 300 feet or less
along either side of the highway for the length of that part of the
highway that is under review for a proposed change in the speed
limit, the township board may petition the county road commission
or in charter counties where there is no road commission, but there
is a county board of commissioners, the township board may petition
the county board of commissioners for a proposed change in the
speed limit. The county road commission or in charter counties
where there is no road commission, but there is a county board of
commissioners, the township board may petition the county board of
commissioners to approve the proposed change in the speed limit
without the necessity of an engineering and traffic investigation.
(6) (5)
If upon investigation the state
transportation
department or county road commission and the department of state
police find it in the interest of public safety, they may order the
township board, or city or village officials to erect and maintain,
take down, or regulate the speed control signs, signals, or devices
as directed, and in default of an order the state transportation
department or county road commission may cause the designated
signs, signals, and devices to be erected and maintained, taken
down, regulated, or controlled, in the manner previously directed,
and pay for the erecting and maintenance, removal, regulation, or
control of the sign, signal, or device out of the highway fund
designated.
(7) (6)
A public record of all speed
control signs, signals,
or devices authorized under this section shall be filed in the
office of the county clerk of the county in which the highway is
located, and a certified copy shall be prima facie evidence in all
courts of the issuance of the authorization. The public record with
the
county clerk shall is not be required as prima facie evidence
of authorization in the case of signs erected or placed temporarily
for the control of speed or direction of traffic at points where
construction, repairs, or maintenance of highways is in progress,
or along a temporary alternate route established to avoid the
construction, repair, or maintenance of a highway, if the signs are
of uniform design approved by the state transportation department
and the department of state police and clearly indicate a special
control, when proved in court that the temporary traffic control
sign was placed by the state transportation department or on the
authority of the state transportation department and the department
of state police or by the county road commission or on the
authority of the county road commission, at a specified location.
(8) (7)
A person who fails to observe an
authorized speed or
traffic control sign, signal, or device is responsible for a civil
infraction.
(9) (8)
Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the
maximum
speed limit on all freeways shall be is 70 miles per hour
except that if the state transportation department and the
department of state police jointly determine upon the basis of an
engineering and traffic investigation that the speed of vehicular
traffic on a freeway is greater or less than is reasonable or safe
under the conditions found to exist upon a part of the freeway, the
departments acting jointly may determine and declare a reasonable
and safe maximum or minimum speed limit on that freeway that is not
more than 70 miles per hour but not less than 55 miles per hour and
that
shall be is effective when appropriate signs giving notice of
the speed limit are erected. The minimum speed limit on all
freeways is 55 miles per hour except if reduced speed is necessary
for safe operation or in compliance with law or in compliance with
a special permit issued by an appropriate authority.
(10) (9)
The maximum rates of speed allowed
under this section
are subject to the maximum rates established under section 629b,
section 627(5) to (7) for certain vehicles and vehicle
combinations, and section 629(4).
(11) (10)
Except for the general speed limit
described in
subsection
(1), speed limits established pursuant to under this
section shall be known as absolute speed limits.
Sec.
629. (1) Local authorities may establish, or increase, or
decrease the prima facie speed limits on highways under their
jurisdiction subject to the following limitations:
(a) A highway within a business district on which the prima
facie speed limit is increased shall be designated a through
highway at the entrance to which vehicles shall be required to stop
before entering, except that where 2 of these through highways
intersect, local authorities may require traffic on only 1 highway
to stop before entering the intersection.
(b) The local authorities shall place and maintain, upon all
through highways in which the permissible speed is increased or
decreased, adequate signs giving notice of the special regulations
and shall also place and maintain upon each highway intersecting a
through
highway , appropriate
signs which shall be that
are
reflectorized or illuminated at night.
(c) Local authorities may establish prima facie lawful speed
limits on highways outside of business districts that are
consistent with the limits established in section 627(2).
(2) The state transportation department shall establish the
speed upon all trunk line highways located within cities and
villages as follows:
(a) A written copy of the authorization or determination shall
be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county or
counties where the highway is located and a certified copy of the
authorization
or determination shall be is
prima facie evidence in
all courts of the issuance of the authorization or determination.
(b) When the state transportation department increases the
speed upon a trunk line highway as provided in this act, subject to
section 627a, the state transportation department shall place and
maintain upon these highways adequate signs giving notice of the
permissible speed fixed by the state transportation commission.
(3) Local authorities are authorized to decrease the prima
facie speed limits to not less than 15 miles per hour in public
parks under their jurisdiction. A decrease in the prima facie speed
limits
is binding when adequate signs are duly posted giving notice
of the reduced speeds.
(4) Local authorities are authorized to decrease the prima
facie speed limits to not less than 25 miles an hour on each street
or highway under their jurisdiction that is adjacent to a publicly
owned park or playground. A decrease in the prima facie speed
limits
is binding when adequate signs are duly posted giving notice
of the reduced speeds. As used in this subsection, "local
authority" includes the county road commission with the concurrence
of the township board of a township for a street or highway within
the boundaries of the township.
(5) The maximum rates of speed allowed under this section are
subject to the maximum rate established under section 629b.
(6) A person who exceeds a lawful speed limit established
under this section is responsible for a civil infraction.
(7) As used in this section, "local authority" means the
governing body of a city or village, except as provided in
subsection (4).