Speed limits
You turn into an alley behind a row of shops. Unless a sign says otherwise, how fast may you drive?
- 15 mph. Correct answer
- 25 mph.
- 10 mph.
Why
An alley is the handbook's narrowest class of road: any road no wider than 25 feet used to reach the rear or side entrances of buildings or properties. The limit inside one is 15 mph. Watch the two numbers that live next door. Twenty-five mph is the limit in a business or residential district, which is the street the alley opens onto, so it is the speed you are most likely to carry in with you by mistake. Ten mph is real as well, but it belongs to passing a bus, streetcar or trolley stopped at a safety zone or a traffic light. One permission worth knowing here: driving on or crossing a sidewalk is allowed when you are entering or leaving a driveway or an alley.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, June 2025 edition. The correct answer is 15 mph.
The rule behind this one
California speed limits and the basic speed law goes through the whole topic, with the page of the California Driver's Handbook behind every rule.
More on speed limits
- You are driving on a residential street and there are no speed limit signs posted. What is the speed limit?
- You are towing a trailer on a divided highway that is posted at 65 mph. How fast may you drive?
- The road is wet from rain. By how much does the handbook say you should cut your speed?
- You are driving on packed snow. What does the handbook tell you to do with your speed?