In September, Texas Transportation officials approved an 85 mph (137 km/h) speed limit on a 41-mile long part of the State Highway 130 that connects Austin and San Antonio. This is the highest speed limit in the US – and it seems that Montana may soon follow suit.
That is, if four state lawmakers, who are drafting a bill to raise the daytime speed limit on state highways from 75 to 80 and even 85 mph (120, 130 and 136 km/h respectively) get their way.
“I just think our roads are engineered well and technology is such we can drive those roads safely”, state Representative-elect Aet Wittich told the Missoulian. He added that Montanans want to be able to drive faster and should have the freedom to do so.
State Representative Mike Miller and Senators Scott Sales and Jonathan Windy Boy are also backing the speed limit increase.
“As big a state as Montana is, for the most part, the traffic is pretty sparse”, said Windy Boy. “Once in a while it helps to get from Point A to Point B a little be quicker.”
Sales commented that, having worked for seven months in the Bakken oil patch and driving to and from Bozeman on a regular basis, “it would save me an hour if I could drive 85 mph on the interstate”.
Not everyone agrees, though: Montana Highway Patrol Col. Tom Butler would not comment on the bills until he saw them but he did make very clear that driving faster reduces reaction time and increases braking distances.
“Our overall goal is to keep everyone in one piece and get them home safe”, he said. “Most crashes are a whole lot of little things that come together and become one big thing.”