The speed limit is a maximum — not a target. Swedish law explicitly requires drivers to adjust speed to conditions at all times, regardless of the posted limit.
The Core Rule
You must never drive faster than allows you to stop within the distance you can see ahead clearly. This means your speed must account for sight distance (bends, hills, parked vehicles reducing visibility), road surface condition (wet, icy, gravel), and hazards ahead (junctions, pedestrians, animals).
Practical Examples
On a foggy motorway with 50 metres visibility, 50 km/h is the maximum safe speed — even though the posted limit is 120 km/h. On a gravel road where stones can cause skidding, 70 km/h may be far too fast even where the limit allows it. When approaching a blind hilltop, assume an obstacle just over the crest and choose a speed at which you can stop before reaching it.
Night Driving
Dipped headlights illuminate approximately 40–50 metres ahead. If driving at 90 km/h on dipped beams only, stopping distance significantly exceeds visibility distance — you are over-driving your headlights. Reduce speed or use full beam where permitted.
Exam tip: “Adapting speed to conditions” is a principle, not a vague suggestion — violations can be prosecuted even where the posted limit was not exceeded, if the conditions clearly required a lower speed.