People Are Not Excited About Bozeman’s Simple I-90 Speed Reduction

'Not excited' is a massive understatement. Most drivers are completely ignoring the newly reduced (to 65 mph) I-90 speed limit between Bozeman and Belgrade. I travel back and forth often and have been diligent about observing the new speed limit as an experiment - just to see if others were doing the same. I assure you, they are not.

Strictly adhering to the 65 mph speed limit will get you passed by every other vehicle on the road. Semis too. For the last few weeks, everyone has passed me - some cars by a good 15 or 20 mph. It's as if nobody got the message (or noticed the new signs) that the speed limit is no longer 70+ mph.

The speed change affects both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-90 between mile markers 303.6 and 313.7. (That's about two miles west of the North 19th exit extending east past Bear Canyon.) It doesn't actually go all the way to Belgrade.

Don't get me wrong - I've been known to have a lead foot with appropriate vehicles. We have 2 different (aging) high performance cars and when there's light traffic, I'll absolutely hit triple digits if I can. But that's a judgement call I make when I believe it's as safe as possible, and out of town. It's no secret that Montana is full of people who like to haul ass.

The stretch of I-90 between Bozeman and Belgrade has never been a good idea for that kind of driving. For many years now, there has been massive commuter traffic between the two towns. Semi-truck traffic is very high. Now that Bozeman's population has hit 50,000 it's simply the LAW to reduce the I-90 speed limit.

Locals had lots to say about the new, lowered speed limit on Reddit. Area law enforcement and first responders have been asking for a speed reduction and more safety measures on this stretch of road for many years. It's a crowded and dangerous stretch, and nobody knows better than they do. Quite frankly, the speed reduction doesn't bother me at all - but very few are following it so far.

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Just take these observations as a heads up, especially if it's been a while since you've driven between Bozeman and Belgrade. I personally have NOT noticed any increased law enforcement in the area or seen any speed traps, but that's not the point.

The point is that VERY few of us have been sticking pretty closely to the newly reduced speed limit of 65 mph. Dare I say, it's a bit dangerous for those of us who ARE following the speed limit right now because we're constantly getting passed - and I'm not really surprised by that.

Until there's more law enforcement presence or significantly more signage, I don't expect the situation to change anytime soon. This has been a 'safe driving' experiment for me - and way more people need to be driving about 65 mph to make this speed adjustment feel 'safer'. Just my two cents.