Study Sought To Steer Montana On Daytime Speed Limit 29 Percent Rise In Traffic Deaths Pushes Lawmakers To Consider Special Session

As legislators prepare to decide whether a special session is needed to enact a daytime speed limit in Montana, a leading lawmaker asked Friday for a study to help them decide.

House Speaker John Mercer, R-Polson, asked the legislative auditor to prepare a report by the end of the next week on what link, if any, can be found between speed and the big increase in the number of highway deaths so far this year.

“If there is a statistical showing of a connection, then it should show that,” Mercer said of the study.

But at the very least, he said, the report will give legislators a look at statistics they can use in deciding whether Montana should have a posted speed limit again and whether a special session of the Legislature is needed to create one.

“It’s up to legislators to draw their own conclusions,” Mercer said. “They should have whatever pertinent information is available in front of them. They will draw whatever conclusions they can from the data.”

Mercer’s request came as the secretary of state’s office prepared to mail ballots to legislators on Monday, asking if they want a special session on the speed limit. The poll was triggered by requests from 10 legislators for a session to convene Jan. 12.

A majority of lawmakers is needed to call a session. Mercer opposes a special session.

The push for the Legislature to deal with the issue before its regular 1999 session is sparked by a 29 percent increase in traffic deaths. As of Friday, 177 people had died on Montana highways, or 40 more than a year ago.

Mercer said the auditor’s findings will be sent to all legislators and released to the public as soon as they are available.

Legislative Auditor Scott Seacat said his office will try to find out if statistics show any correlation between speed and both accidents and deaths.

“We want to give the Legislature a fair, independent, objective idea of what the data say,” he said.

The report will take into consideration traffic volume as well as changes Montana laws on in seat belts, drunken driving and child restraints, Seacat said.

Since the question facing lawmakers is whether Montana should have a posted daytime speed limit, the study also will look at the time of day accidents and deaths have occurred, he added.

Montana has not had a numeric daytime speed limit for most vehicles since December 1995, when Congress repealed the federal limit of 65 mph on interstate highways and 55 on most two-lane roads.

Existing law requires drivers of cars and light trucks to drive in a “reasonable and prudent” manner based on conditions.

The 1997 Legislature rejected a proposal for an 80 mph limit on all highways.