The Rules For Speeding On Wyoming Highways

It's typical to have someone blow by you on any road anywhere in America. Speeding is not exactly legal. But there are rules.

So what are the rules in the state of Wyoming for exceeding the speed limit?

In Wyoming, you can generally drive up to 5 mph over the posted speed limit (up to 80 mph) on most highways without the violation being recorded on your driving record, per WYDOT 2022 guidelines. If you start pushing past that extra 5mph, that is when a cop will pull you over.

That's the way it is in most states.

Always be careful when driving through any Wyoming town. Local police are typically not as lenient. If the speed limit drops to 30, do that or a tad less to avoid a ticket.

But you can break that 5 mph rule a bit more if you are passing someone on a two-lane highway.

In Wyoming, you may legally exceed the speed limit by up to 10 miles per hour to pass another vehicle, provided you are on a two-lane road with a speed limit of 50 mph or greater, and you are not in a construction zone. The maneuver must be for safety, and you must return to the right lane and legal speed promptly.

In other words, the cops understand that when passing on a two-lane highway, you might need to step on it to get the maneuver done in a safe and timely manner. But then you are supposed to return to the speed limit.

The safest speed is just a tad above the speed limit. If you are going with the general flow of traffic, you're not the fastest car out there, but you are not the slowest, then, statistically, you're in the safe zone. The people who cause the most wrecks are those who speed or drive too slowly.

Back in 1974, the 55 mph speed limit in Wyoming was enforced until 1987. Due to the federal "Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act". Although Wyoming officials found the limit too slow for the state's vast, open highways, they complied to avoid losing federal funding. SORT OF. There were reports that local drivers were often overlooked by law enforcement as long as they were not driving erratically