Keeping an eye on Montana 35

Ripping off plastic wrap, members of the Highway Watch Program revealed a new tool Wednesday to promote safe driving along Montana 35 near Flathead Lake.

Jim Lynch, director of the Montana Department of Transportation, and Barry “Spook” Stang, executive vice president of the Montana Motor Carriers Association, joined area law enforcement, motor carriers and local residents around a new sign across the highway from Bethany Lutheran Church to launch the Highway Watch Program.

“I’ve been interested in getting something done. I hope this works and works well,” said Harry Hyatt, who lives near the mile marker 18 on Montana 35.

He said he got involved with highway safety after a tanker spilled thousands of gallons of gas in April 2008, rendering the area unlivable for more than a year.

The Highway Watch Program is part of ongoing efforts to improve safety and address concerns about large truck use of Montana 35 on the east side of Flathead Lake. It provides a way for people to report unsafe driving by commercial motor carriers and other motorists through the use of signs and radar.

Each of the four signs placed along Montana 35 and U.S. 93 displays a toll-free number motorists can call to report unsafe driving.

Montana Highway Patrol Capt. Clancy King called the program “the key to success. We [law enforcement] can’t be here all the time.”

According to Lynch, “All of our driving behavior needs to be modified.” He called recent efforts to do so “kind of a take-off on the Neighborhood Watch program.”

The Highway Watch Program also will form a coalition between industry and community members to use radar guns once a week to monitor speeds along Montana 35 and U.S. 93.

“We want to concentrate on the areas of Montana 35 where accidents have occurred to see if there is a pattern we can pick up,” Stang said.

He said he hopes the signs and radar programs will help lessen speeding, aggressive driving and trucks driving without mufflers plus halt the use of “Jake” compression brakes.

However, Lynch stressed that motorists still should call 911 in the event of a serious driving offense, drunk driver or emergency.

When calling the highway watch number, motorists are encouraged to describe the unsafe act they are reporting, if the unsafe driver is traveling northbound or southbound, the time and any other pertinent information. Callers can remain anonymous.

Calls from the toll-free number (1-877-684-9935) will be taken by the Montana Department of Transportation’s 511 call center. Motorists can call 24 hours a day, seven days per week, according to Lynch. Calls will be live from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. on weekdays, otherwise motorists can leave messages. Motorists also can report incidents at www.mdt.mt.gov.

Lynch said no new employees will be hired to take on the additional calls and that their increased work load will not cost more. “We will know more in six months what their work load will be,” he said.

Lynch said the calls and messages will be evaluated by the Montana Department of Transportation on a regular basis.

“Say we get a series of reports that are very consistent,” he said. “For example, if vehicles are crossing over the center line all at the same location, it could point to a problem with the corridor, not the drivers.”

Lynch said information gained about unsafe truckers will be passed to the Montana Motor Carriers Association.

Every month, Lynch said, representatives of the Highway Watch Program will get together with the community and law enforcement to discuss the findings.

The cost is $1,200 for the four signs around the lake and three additional signs advising trucks of limited passing opportunities and narrow roads before they turn onto Montana 35 before Polson.

Lynch called the signs “a culmination of a lot of public effort.”

Reporter Melissa Weaver may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at mweaver@dailyinterlake.com