Chapter 22: Residential Speed Limits
The Default Limit
Absent other posted signage, California treats residential streets and business districts as 25 mph zones. This default exists because these are exactly the areas with the highest density of driveways, parked cars, children, and pedestrians stepping out unexpectedly.
School Zones
Near schools, the limit typically drops to 25 mph whenever children are present — and near an actively loading or unloading school bus, the expected speed drops further still, often to a near-crawl. School zone limits are enforced particularly strictly, and for good reason: children are far less predictable and far less visible to drivers than adult pedestrians.