Evil_Bob

For anyone interested, there is a little known raceway/drag strip in the Council Bluffs/Omaha area:

www.midamericamotorplex.com

bdc6

remember guys... montana has NO speed limit!

TEAShea

I have attended a BMW driving school at the MidAmerica Motorplex (using my Cadilac CTS-V). The course is 2.6 miles long with 15 corners. It is very well run and has an excellent surface. It is a fine track.

TEAShea
from Nebraska

seesix

Is that true? If so I see Montana quickly becoming a vacation destination.

forfun

That is bunk. Regrettably, the Fed highway money was going to pass by Montana if they did not institute a speed limit, so they abandoned "Reasonable and Prudent" for 75mph. Plus, people were, true to their nature, ruining the program for all reasonable people by reinterpreting the R + P "limit" and speeding really fast and in some cases killing themselves. Montana was gaining a reputation for an autobahn in America. They felt they had to act.

Oneslackr

Exactly. People up who lived up there were sick and tired of everyone going up there and thinking they were driving in Germany. Though I can't cast blame because I was one of them.

I got to drive through Montana back in the spring of '96 when they still had "Reasonable and Prudent" for the day time speed limit (even then they did have a night time speed limit). I was on my way back from visiting family in NE Wyoming. At the time I lived in Salt Lake City and thought since I'm here might as well take the long way back through Montana & check out this "Reasonable & Prudent" limit for myself.

I had an RX-7 Turbo II (remember those) and when I crossed into Montana I kept my foot to the floor as much as reasonably possible. I flew across Montana at triple digit speeds. I noticed that the only people that were driving fast/really fast were all from out of state, like myself.

It wasn't until a year or two later that I read an article in Road & Track or Car & Driver (can't remember which one) where they had done a ride along with a Montana State Trooper. I remember the officer in the article saying that even though the day time speed limit was listed as "Reasonable and Prudent" that didn't mean you could drive as fast as you wanted. He said that he would let people run about 90 mph - 95 mph in most cases and sometimes a bit more before he would pull them over.

He also stated that he took into consideration the type of car they were in. If he saw a guy with his entire family in an old wood paneled station wagon running 90 mph he would stop them for sure. If he spotted a Porsche running at 95 mph he probably would let the guy keep going since the car was built to handle higher speeds.

I didn't realize until after reading that article how lucky I had been not to get stopped while driving through. I don't know what would have happened but I know they wouldn't have considered my speed as "Reasonable and Prudent".

The roads up there (like everywhere in the US) weren't made for cruising at break neck speeds (not like the autobahns in Germany). I was also lucky that nothing had gone wrong and I didn't get into an accident. There were many places up there were that could have easily happened. It was a short time after reading that article that Montana imposed a speed limit again.

Stay safe on the roads & save the high speed stuff for the race tracks and drag strips.

ss409cid

Alas, the good ole days are gone

Boozman

That was sweeeeeeet back then.

ALFONSE

So I'm driving 120 MPH in my Vette, come over a hill and bam run into a 18 wheeler doing 60. I knew a guy years ago that was drivng a rental (Ford Tauras) tooling along at 95 MPH and was ticketed. The policemen told him the car nor tires were made for that speed, here's the ticket, slow it down!
AL

dvarapala

I don't think 120 meets any definition of "reasonable and prudent" when your line of sight is shorter than your stopping distance...

OTOH, I hit 120 yesterday on I-8 in the Arizona desert; the road was empty, and I could see from horizon to horizon.

And why were people raving about Montana when the night time speed limit is FIFTY-FIVE??? That blows dead bears!!!!

ALFONSE

Just using as an example! SPEED KILLS! Oh my I did 142 MPH in my 93 in the flat lands of Illinois, just a short sprint then back to 65.
AL

Oneslackr

ss409cid,

That's cool that you have a picture of the old speed limit sign. We'll probably never see a sign like that again anywhere in the states.

forfun

Dear Oneslackr: Yeah - me too. I drove thru Montana to speed. Went on a x-country drive and headed straight for Montana. What a blast. I figured 90 to 120 mph was my take on reasonable + prudent. I was driving on a clear, straight, dry, mid-day bright, empty, road in a fast car (95 LT-1) without any booze (duh) and alert and awake. I was fine until I passed that darn Park Police in an unmarked Chevy Blazer (old big model) at about 90 and then accelerated to 125. Fool tried to catch me but then simply called ahead on his radio. The Trooper ahead pulled me over, and I paid $70 cash on the spot. Cop even made change for my $100 bill.

Yeah, even then I knew this would not last for long...

PS. I have the same pix of the signs.