Montana Highway Death Toll Tops 1996 Legislators Ponder Enacting Speed Limit As Officials Hope Snow Slows Drivers

With three months to go in 1997, Montana’s highway death toll has surpassed last year’s total. Officials say weather will be a key to how many more are killed this year.

Cold, snowy winter weather slows down drivers and means fewer accidents with deaths and injuries, said Col. Craig Reap, chief of the Montana Highway Patrol.

If history is any indication, 40 more people likely will die in auto accidents before the new year, said Al Goke, chief of the state Traffic Safety Bureau.

“It depends on how severe and how early our winter comes,” he said.

The number of people killed on Montana roads so far this year reached 199 over the weekend, one more than during all of 1996.

That 28-percent jump in deaths has sparked statewide debate over whether the lack of a daytime posted speed limit for most vehicles is partly to blame.

Lawmakers are being polled by mail to see if they want a special session of the Legislature in January to enact a speed limit. However, a recent study by the legislative auditor’s office found no apparent link between the high number of deaths and speed.

A recent poll by the Great Falls Tribune found 2-to-1 support for specific daytime speed limits.

If the current pace continues for the rest of this year, the death count would reach 254 - the highest since 286 were killed in 1983.

Reap noted that August was an especially deadly month, with 44 fatalities. That is the highest for any month since January 1980, when 51 people were killed.

Highway Patrol statistics since 1992 show an average of 40 fatalities during the last quarter of the year. That compares to an average of 64 deaths in the July-September period, 46 in April-June and 26 during the first three months of the year.

Goke said the arrival of winter weather in the fall prompts people to drive less. Although icy roads do lead to more accidents, they usually are lower-speed fender-benders that don’t claim lives, he said.

Attorney General Joe Mazurek said he believes the public is concerned about the way people are driving and that is why the poll showed strong support for posted limits.

“People don’t feel as safe as they used to feel, and I think justifiably so,” he said.

If legislators decide against a special session and the speed limit issue has to wait for the next regular session in January 1999, Mazurek said he hopes motorists spend the time wisely.

“People need to take a step back and think about how they’re driving,” he said. “We need to remind ourselves that we have a responsibility to one another, not just ourselves.”

Goke said he is convinced the big jump in deaths this year is not a fluke.

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