The following opinion is presented on-line for informational use only and does not replace the official version. (Mich Dept of Attorney General Web Site - www.ag.state.mi.us) STATE OF MICHIGAN FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL Opinion No. 5431 January 26, 1979 MOTOR VEHICLE CODE: Speed limits Section 633 of the Motor Vehicle Code (which requires that a complaint, summons or a notice to appear on charges of speeding violations specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven and the speed limit at the location) is applicable to the speed limitations contained in Sec. 627 which requires that a person driving a vehicle on a highway drive at a careful and prudent speed. F. Hubert Mather Prosecuting Attorney Baraga County 4 West Broad Street L'Anse, Michigan 49946 You have requested my opinion as to whether 1949 PA 300, Sec. 633; MCLA 257.633; MSA 9.2333, which requires that a complaint, summons or a notice to appear on charges of speeding violations specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven, is applicable to the speed limitations of 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627; MCLA 257.627; MSA 9.2327. 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627, supra, states in pertinent part: '(a) A person driving a vehicle on a highway shall drive at a careful and prudent speed not greater than nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard to the traffic, surface, and width of the highway and of any other condition then existing, and a person shall not drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than will permit him to bring it to a stop within the assured, clear distance ahead.' 1949 PA 300, Sec. 633, supra, provides in part: 'In every charge of violation of any speed regulation in this chapter the complaint, also the summons or notice to appear, shall specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven, also the speed applicable within the district or at the location.' It is a rule of statutory construction that all parts of an act be read together to give effect to the act as a whole, Dussia v Monroe County Employees Retirement System, 386 Mich 244, 248; 191 NW2d 307 (1971); Department of Natural Resources v Seaman, 396 Mich 299, 309; 240 NW2d 206 (1976). 1949 PA 300, Sec. 633, supra, governs the information to be contained in a complaint, summons or notice to appear. 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627, supra, on the other hand, is a provision of Chapter 6 which regulates the speed at which a motor vehicle may be driven under certain circumstances. Hence, sections 627 and 633 may be construed in harmony with one another by requiring that the complaint and summons or notice to appear specify the speed driven. For example, if a person drives in a 35 mile per hour zone at a speed of 25 miles per hour, this could be a violation of 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627, supra, if the road were narrow, icy and the traffic heavy; although the person was driving slower than the posted speed limit, the speed would be excessive in view of the driving conditions. In such case, to comply with section 633, the complaint, summons or notice to appear must state that the defendant was driving 25 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. A statement that the defendant was driving 'too fast for conditions' does not meet this requirement. It will then require a judicial determination as to whether there has been a violation of 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627, supra, by virtue of the fact that the person was not driving at 'a careful and prudent speed in view of the traffic, surface and width of the highway.' Therefore, it is my opinion that 1949 PA 300, Sec. 633, supra, which requires that a complaint, summons or a notice to appear on charges of speeding violations specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven and the speed limit at the location is applicable to the speed limitations contained in 1949 PA 300, Sec. 627, supra. Frank J. Kelley Attorney General