Regulatory signs
Maximum speed limit
What it means
Do not drive faster than the speed shown (in km/h). Unless posted otherwise, the limit is 50 km/h in cities, towns and villages and 80 km/h elsewhere.
White with black or red; a red circle with a slash means prohibited, a green circle means permitted.
Summarised from the Official MTO Driver’s Handbook. Read the original: MTO Driver’s Handbook – Driving along ↗
How to recognise it
A white rectangle with MAXIMUM in black above a large number and km/h beneath. Ontario signs say MAXIMUM, not speed limit.
Where you will see it
At the start of any road with its own limit, after major intersections, and wherever the limit changes: entering a town, leaving a freeway ramp, passing a school.
What to do when you see it
- 1.Never drive faster than the number shown.
- 2.Slow down below it when rain, snow, fog or heavy traffic make the posted speed unsafe. The limit is a ceiling, not a target.
- 3.Where no limit is posted, drive no faster than 50 km/h in cities, towns and villages and 80 km/h elsewhere.
On the G1 test
Learn the defaults for unposted roads: 50 km/h in a built-up area, 80 km/h outside one. Questions also ask what to do in bad weather, and the answer is always to slow down, whatever the sign says.
Practice questions for this sign