Speeding in School Zones: This Is Now Bozeman’s Dangerous Habit

Driving in Bozeman has certainly become less relaxed than it used to be, but I'm begging all of us - start paying attention to school speed zones. There is an insane lack of awareness and safety in Bozeman's school zones. As in, nobody seems to give a damn.

To be frank, I'm surprised that Bozeman hasn't had more accidents in our school zones. That's a great thing, but it's also a very lucky thing. The odds will catch up with us.

If you happen to spend a few minutes observing just about any school zone in town, you'll quickly notice that hardly anyone slows down for the posted distance and much fewer yet actually adhere to the much slower speed limit.

NOTE: In the summer of 2023, Bozeman decided to make school zone speed limits in effect 24/7. Meaning, no matter what day - no matter what time - we need to adhere to the posted school zone speed limit. No questions. Simple, right?

We just can't do it. We, (for some reason), can't help ourselves as a community. It's as if the 20 extra seconds it might end up taking to get down the street somehow impacts our life in a negative way. The kids don't actually enter into the mental equation.

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Here are the basic facts when it comes to school zone speed limits. They're not hard to understand. They're not hard to follow. We just don't follow them as a concerned, bustling town and we certainly don't follow them consistently.

• The speed limit in a Bozeman school zone is 25 mph year round.
• Speed limits in Bozeman school zones might be as low as 15 miles per hour.
• Cities and towns in Montana can establish their own school zone speed limits.
• "The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) sets speed limits on state-controlled routes." Meaning, you might see faster speed zones in rural areas. Some rural schools are technically located on State Highways.

In Montana, school zone speed limits can be reduced to at least 80% of the normal speed limit.

The reduced speed limit must be rounded down to the nearest whole number that is divisible by 5. (Billings Public Works)

Get this: We did a (very) informal observing of cars on West Durston between Cottonwood and Ferguson. There is a large school zone located there because there are TWO schools within a two block stretch of popular road.

This is where you'll find Meadowlark Elementary School and Heritage Christian School. And Petra Academy isn't far away. We spent a chunk of time mid-day on a Tuesday counting cars and checking their speed via the radar speed signs. We waited for 100 vehicles to go by in one direction.

• 89 of the 100 vehicles were NOT driving the posted 15 miles per hour or slower.
• Of those 89 drivers who were speeding, 55 of them were driving faster than 25 miles per hour.
• Another 10 drivers were clocked going faster than 35 miles per hour.

Again, it's as if we collectively don't give a damn. It's only a matter of time until Bozeman experiences a completely avoidable school zone tragedy, that wakes us up to the importance of slowing the hell down.