You Won’t Get a Ticket For Doing This in Montana Anymore

During the winter in Montana, many people start their cars and give them a chance to warm up before hitting the road. Warming your car up helps melt the ice on your windshield, and gets your car all warm and cozy before you get in.

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Up until 2017, it was illegal to start your vehicle and leave it running unattended while warming up the engine. For a long time, leaving your car running unattended was something you could get a ticket for. Honestly, I would've risked getting a ticket because getting into a car when it's -20 doesn't sound that appealing.

The Montana Legislature updated the law in 2017 and it's no longer illegal to start your car and leave it running to warm it up. After all, the law was a bit ridiculous, especially since we live in Montana, where winter lasts much longer than summer.

The law was one of many outdated laws in Montana that needed to be updated. After going through the legislative process, Governor Steve Bullock signed the bill into law and made it effective immediately.

Thankfully, the law wasn't enforced when warming up your car was still illegal in Montana.

There are many laws in Montana that don't make much sense. Did you know that it's illegal for a person in Billings to raise pet rats? It's also illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and it's against the law for unmarried women to fish alone on any day of the week.

The good news is that we can be warm while we drive to work without worrying about getting a ticket.