Montana Driving and Traffic Laws

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The state of Montana has written a set of rules and regulations to ensure each of its citizens live in perfect harmony and safety. Any violations of these rules must be dealt with harshly. It has also written a set of rules to govern the actions of motorists on the motorway. A driver who violates the laws must realise he is putting both his life and other driver’s lives and families in danger. Any violation must be immediately penalised.

The state of Montana follows the Tort system of rules. According to this system, in case of an accident, a driver is to be found responsible and it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure the damages are paid for. The not at fault driver can also sue the at fault driver for damages.

The financial responsibility rules followed in the state of Montana ensures that each driver as enough finances to pay for the damages caused during an accident. The minimum liability that each driver must be insured for is of the form 25/50/10. This stands for an amount of twenty five thousand dollars for bodily injury per person, fifty thousand dollars for bodily injury in total and ten thousand dollars for property damage. While bodily injury covers medical costs incurred by the not at fault driver, property damage covers repair and replacement costs of his car along with any damages caused to buildings, fences an even lamp posts.

The state of Montana deals with driving under influence or DUI very seriously. A person is said to be driving under influence if he is found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or more. For the first DUI offense, the sentence would be jail time between a day and six months. The fine would be anywhere between three hundred dollars and one thousand dollars. If the person is found to be driving under influence while transporting a minor the jail time would be between two days and twelve months and the fine would be between six hundred and two thousand dollars. The initial twenty four hours sentence has to be served in the jail while the subsequent days can be suspended.

For a second conviction, the person shall face a fine between six hundred to a thousand dollars. The jail time is a minimum of seven days and can go as high as six months. However, if he was transporting a minor at the time of driving under influence, the jail time would be between fourteen days and twelve months. The minimum fine would be a thousand two hundred dollars to two thousand dollars. The first forty eight hours of the sentence has to be served while the rest can be suspended.

Wearing seat belts is a must in the state of Montana. Any child in the vehicle must also be suitably strapped into a child restraint seat. The urban speed limit in Montana is sixty five while the highway speed limit is seventy. There is a ban on open containers in a vehicle on the road. Neither the driver nor the passenger is allowed to have open containers of alcohol.