Montana Speeding Laws

Basic Speed Law: Subject to the (maximum) statutory speed limits below, a person shall operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner and at a reduced rate of speed no greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions existing at the point of operation, taking into account the amount and character of traffic, visibility, weather and roadway conditions. MT 1 § 61-8-303(4)

Penalty for Exceeding Speed Limit

A first time violator may be:

• fined between $10 and $100, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended six months.

Penalty for Reckless Driving

A first time violator may be:

• fined between $25 and $300,
• sentenced to jail time of not more than 90 days months, and
• the violator’s license may be suspended six months.

Montana Speed Limits

• 75 MPH at all times on Federal-Aid interstate highways outside an urbanized area with population more than 50,000
• 65 MPH at all times on Federal-Aid interstate highways within an urbanized area with a population more than 50,000
• 70 MPH during the daytime and 65 MPH during the nighttime on any other public highway
• 65 MPH at all times on U.S. Highway 93 between the Canadian and Idaho borders unless the highway is upgraded to a continuous four lane highway.
• 25 MPH in an urban district

Montana Speeding Laws

Montana has what is known as an “absolute” speed limit law. There is no trick to how this works: If the sign says 40 mph and you drive 41 mph or more, you have violated the law. In other words, you are guilty if you drive over the speed limit. In X Montana you may be able to make three possible defenses:

• Attacking the officer’s determination of your speed. To do this you must discover what method the officer used to cite you and then learn about the ways to attack that particular method.
• Claiming an emergency forced you to exceed the speed limit to avoid serious damage or injury to yourself or others.
• Claiming that the officer mistook your car for another car. With so many similar-looking cars, it is possible that a cop could see a speeding car, lose sight of it around a corner, and then wrongly pick out your car farther down the road.

Note that in Montana you can be ticketed for driving at an unsafe speed, even if that speed does not violate the posted limit -- for example, driving exactly at the maximum mph posted limit on the freeway amidst slower and heavy traffic, in a dense fog, or in a driving rainstorm or blizzard.

Point System

If an offender accumulates 6 points within 18 months, they may be required to attend a counseling session or be subject to license re-examination. II. If an offender accumulates 15 or more points within 36 months, they are subject to a 6 month license suspension and must be referred to a Driver Rehabilitation Program.

The following points are assigned to speeding and speed related violations: Engaging in race or speed contest (i.e., unauthorized speed contest)-5 points; driving recklessly-5 points; speeding in a restricted speed zone-3 points; speeding 25 MPH in an urban district-3 points; speeding 35 MPH in a construction zone-3 points; speeding more than 65 MPH at night on an interstate-3 points; speeding more than 55 MPH at night on other highways-3 points; driving certain trucks more than 55 MPH at night, more than 60 MPH at other times or more than 65 MPH on interstate highways*-3 points; violating posted (restricted) speed limits established by either the State or local governments including a violation of the posted speed limit on bridges or elevated structures-3 points; towing a house trailer more than 50 MPH-3 points; obstructing traffic by driving under the minimum reasonable speed (after being warned)-2 points; not driving in the right lane when operating a slow moving vehicle-2 points; violating the basic speed rule-2 points; and, careless driving-2points.

A violation of the statutory speed limits is not recorded on a person’s driving record unless they exceed the speed by more than 10 MPH during the daytime or 5 MPH during the nighttime.