Until 1999 Montana was the closest thing
In the years before 1974's
national 55 mph limit, and for three years after the
1995 repeal of the increased 65 mph limit,
Montana had a non-numeric "reasonable and prudent" speed limit during the daytime on most rural roads. Montana Code Annotated (MCA) Section 61-8-303 said "A person . . . shall drive the vehicle . . . at a rate of speed no greater than is reasonable and proper under the conditions existing at the point of operation . . . so as not to unduly or unreasonably endanger the life, limb, property, or other rights of a person entitled to the use of the street or highway."
Typical speed limit sign that one would see at the Montana state line from December 1995 to June 1999.
Montana law also specified a few numeric limits: a night speed limit, usually 55 or 65 mph (89–105 km/h), depending on road type; 25 mph (40 km/h) in urban districts and 35 mph (56 km/h) in construction zones.
The phrase "reasonable and prudent" is found in the language of most state speed laws. This allows prosecution under non-ideal conditions such as rain or snow when the speed limit would be imprudently fast.
[edit] No speed limit
On March 10, 1996, a Montana
patrolman issued a
speeding ticket to a
driver traveling at 85 mph (136 km/h) on a stretch of
State Highway 200. The 50 year-old driver (Rudy Stanko) was operating a 1996
Camaro with less than 10,000 miles (16,093 km) on the
odometer. Although the officer gave no opinion as to what would have been a reasonable speed, the driver was convicted. The driver appealed to the
Montana Supreme Court. The Court reversed the conviction in case No. 97-486 on December 23, 1998; it held that a law requiring drivers to drive at a non-numerical "reasonable and proper" speed "is so
vague that it violates the
Due Process Clause ... of the
Montana Constitution".
Effective May 28, 1999, as a result of that decision, the
Montana Legislature established a speed limit of 75 mph.
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