MONTANA: NO SPEED LIMITS RESULT IN FEWER ACCIDENTS

In 1996, the state of Montana reverted to the state speed limit policies that existed prior to 1974 and the National Maximum Speed Limit. The national maximum limit was repealed in December of 1995. Montana returned to the use of 'reasonable and prudent speed limits' (RPSLs) on its federal and state highways. RPSLs are not based on numerical maximums, but rather they require motorists to drive speeds considered safe for prevailing conditions. The Montana State Patrol chose to enforce a de-facto threshold of 80-90 mph limit for enforcement. Following the challenge of a speeding ticket in 1998, the State Supreme Court declared the RPSL unconstitutional. After 4 years of no numerical or posted daytime speed limit on its rural highways outside of urban areas, Montana recorded its lowest fatality rate. This article explores these findings and explores some possible reasons for these counter-intuitive results.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1519687
• Corporate Authors:

  N/A

  P.O. Box 558
  Park Ridge, IL  United States  60068
• Authors:
  • Dornsife, C
• Publication Date: 2000-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 32-34
• Serial:
  • Better Roads
  • Volume: 70
  • Issue Number: 8
  • Publisher: James Informational Media, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0006-0208
  • Serial URL: http://www.betterroads.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile driving; Fatalities; Highway safety; Highway transportation; Law enforcement; Rural highways; Speed limits; Speeding; State government; State highways; Traffic crashes
• Identifier Terms: National Maximum Speed Limit
• Geographic Terms: Montana
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00798821
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 2 2000 12:00AM