Montana Drivers Still Miss This Unusual Old Speed Limit

It's not always easy to look back, especially here in Montana. 

The Good Old Days: A Perspective

There was a time when you could look back at something and think, Man, those were the good old days. 

Of course, there's that famous saying: You don't know you're living in the good old days until they're gone.

Recently, I decided to ask people about Montana and some of the things they miss. 

We put out the open-ended question: 

"I wish Montana still had..." 

And then we let people fill in the blank. 

The answers were pretty interesting. 

Crowd Control: The Population Debate

A lot of them were exactly what you might expect from people who have watched Montana change over the years. 

People said they wished Montana had fewer people. And not just a few fewer people, either. Some actually picked a number. 

Less than a million people. 

Apparently, once Montana crossed that million-person mark, things started feeling a little too crowded for some folks. 

Lost Places: A Culinary Memory Lane

Other people mentioned restaurants and businesses that used to be around but are long gone. Golden Corral was mentioned a lot.  

Speed Limits and Memories: A Shift in Montana Driving

But there was one answer that came up way more often than I expected. 

People miss Montana's old "reasonable and prudent" speed limit. 

via GIPHY

Remembering Reasonable and Prudent: A Look Back

If you weren't around for it, Montana once had a daytime speed rule that essentially said you could drive at a speed that was reasonable and prudent for the conditions. 

There wasn't a traditional posted daytime speed limit like we have today. 

READ MORE: The Historic Moments Missoula Will Never Forget

And yes, that was almost thirty years ago. Montana got rid of reasonable and prudent in 1999. 

Of course, Montana was a very different place back then. 

Gas was cheaper. Vehicles were different. There were fewer people on the roads. 

Apparently, people took advantage of it. 

There was even a time when a speeding ticket in Montana could cost you just five bucks. 

Those days are long gone. 

The Legacy of Reasonable and Prudent Speed Limits

Honestly, I can't even imagine what "reasonable and prudent" would look like on Montana roads today. 

We've got a lot more drivers, a lot more traffic, and a lot more vehicles. 

READ MORE: Montana Drivers See Fewer Speeding Tickets in the Treasure State

Fuel Efficiency and Speed: The New Reality

Personally, I'm not much of a speeder anyway. Part of the reason is pretty simple: 

My vehicles aren't exactly fuel-efficient. 

So if I drive really fast from Point A to Point B, I'm basically just paying more money to get there a little sooner. When Montana had the reasonable and prudent speed limit, gas was between $0.80 and $0.95 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  

But I found it fascinating how many people still remember Montana's old speed-limit system fondly. 

There's another interesting part of this. 

There are people who haven't lived in Montana very long who still believe Montana doesn't have a speed limit. 

The myth, legend and lore of Montana's no-speed-limit days apparently live on. 

Of course, we absolutely have speed limits. They're posted all over the place. 

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But if you ask people what they wish Montana still had, apparently there's a pretty big group of people who would love to bring back the days of reasonable and prudent. 

Would you? 

What is something you wish Montana still had?