How fast can you actually go without getting a ticket in Iowa?

There are some unwritten rules of the road I've always tried to adhere to, like generally not going any faster than 10 MPH over the speed limit. That number has always been my mental checkpoint. Unless I have to go faster to keep up with the flow of traffic on the highway or interstate, I'll slow down if my speedometer says I'm more than 10 MPH over the speed limit.

I get the speed limit is literally that. Honestly, unless it's a work zone, it's also the minimum you should be going, by the way. In Iowa though, you might want to reconsider that little 10 MPH "grace period".

Iowa's Speed Limit Laws

If you're going to be caught with the zoomies, you would want it to be in Iowa and not Illinois. Speeding penalties are way tough across the river and Illinois's speeding laws will empty your wallet.

Legal website NOLO says that in Iowa, your fine for speeding will depend on how much of a lead foot you were caught with and how many MPH over the speed limit you went. The violations work like this:

$20 for speeding no more than 5 MPH
$40 for speeding no more than 10 MPH
$80 for speeding no more than 15 MPH
$90 for speeding no more than 20 MPH
And if you're over 20 MPH over the speed limit: $100 plus $5 per MPH

In Iowa, you definitely don't want to speed in school zones. If you're caught going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit in a school zone, you could get 30 days in jail and anywhere from $65-$625 in fines.

So as you're road-tripping this summer, make sure you don't get a lead foot, but if you're going to drive slower than traffic flow, for the love of God, get in the right lane.