Here is the law in California:[ul][li]“Maximum Speed” is a numeric speed, specified in miles per hour in the California Vehicle Code, which you may not exceed under any circumstances. There are currently three numeric maximum speed laws in California: a 70 mph max. speed for some rural freeways that are rated for such high speeds (CVC sec 22356), a 55 mph max. speed for 2-lane undivided roadways (CVC sec 22349(b)), and a blanket 65 mph max. speed everywhere else (CVC sec 22349(a)).[/li]
[li]A “Speed Limit”, however, isn’t a law. Posted speed limits, called “prima facie limits” in the California Vehicle Code, are the suggested maximum safe speed for that particular stretch of road under normal driving conditions. The law in force here is CVC sec 22350, sometimes called the Basic Speed Law, which states that “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”[/ul][/li]However, if you drive faster than a posted “Speed Limit,” the burden of proof will be on you to demonstrate to the court that your speed wasn’t a violation of the Basic Speed Law (cf. CVC 22351(b)).