In 1905, North Dakota automobile speed limits were 8 miles per hour in town and 25 on open roads. By 1911, the highway speed limit was raised to 30.
During World War II, North Dakota Governor John Moses requested that drivers limit their speed to 35 miles per hour to save rubber and fuel. A national 35-mile-per-hour "Victory Speed Limit" was requested, and in 1943, it became a mandatory executive order. In 1950, North Dakota set its maximum speed limit at 50 miles per hour, which required another act of the legislature.
From the mid-1960s to 1973, the maximum posted speed was 75 miles per hour. Then the national energy crisis spurred a federal law limiting highway speeds to 55 miles per hour.
On this date in 1986, newspapers reported that North Dakota Senators Quentin Burdick and Mark Andrews voted for a proposal allowing states to raise the speed limit on rural sections of interstate highways to 65 miles per hour.
"This is a states' rights issue," said Burdick. "State legislatures know what roads are built to take higher speeds safely. They know what their people want and need. Washington shouldn't be deciding a question that gets down to an individual call in each state."
Burdick emphasized that the proposal would help states threatened with losing federal highway funds because of noncompliance with the 55-mile-per-hour limit. He added that the limit was nearly unenforceable and cited polls showing that most Americans wanted the speed limit raised.
Senator Mark Andrews said the 55-mile-per-hour limit could actually be dangerous because of the wide range of speeds on the highway, with some drivers obeying the limit while others traveled at 65.
Since 2025, parts of North Dakota and eight other states have posted speed limits of 80 miles per hour. The nation's highest posted speed limit is 85 miles per hour, on a toll road bypass of the Austin metropolitan area in Texas.
In 2026, the Fargo newspaper reported that speeding citations decreased by 32% in areas where the limit increased from 75 to 80 miles per hour, while crashes increased in both 80-mile-per-hour and lower-speed zones.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- North Dakota Department of Transportation, March 27, 2025. North Dakota's 75 mph speed limit history.
- Senators support higher speed limit. Bismarck, ND (AP).The Daily News,
- September 25, 1986, Page 7
- North Dakota speed limit changes show mixed results after first year. InForum, August 21, 2026.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_StatesTexas State Highway 130. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Highway_130
- Wikipedia. Speed limits in the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States
