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Hearing today on speed limit in Gallatin Canyon BOZEMAN (AP) - Gallatin County commissioners will hold a hearing today on a proposal to set a reduced speed limit on the deadly stretch of U.S. 191 through the Gallatin Canyon. The proposal comes from Big Sky Fire Chief Bob Stober. As the area's only paramedic, he goes to all serious accidents in the canyon. "You can't imagine what it's like to place a young body in a body bag," he said. He's done it 11 times on 191 in the six years he's been on the job. Stober and other Big Sky residents want to be the first to take advantage of a new state law allowing lower speed limits on dangerous stretches of road. They say high speeds have been a major factor in the road's accident rate, which is 31 percent higher than the state average, according to Department of Transportation statistics. Stober wants the commission to ask the state for a 55 mph speed limit on 36 miles of the highway from the mouth of the Gallatin Canyon to Yellowstone National Park. Not everyone is convinced speed is the primary cause of canyon accidents. Some Gallatin Canyon residents blame truck traffic, fallen boulders and wildlife for the road's problems, and say a speed limit won't really slow people down. Stober acknowledges that other factors play a role, but says speed is one factor that can be controlled. There was no speed limit on the highway - or anywhere else in Montana - in the last several years, and the state's new speed limit law sets 70 mph as the cap for two-lane highways. The new highway speed law goes into effect May 28, ending the days of Montana's "reasonable and prudent" rule. For the first time, the law also allows the Montana Transportation Commission to set even lower limits for dangerous stretches of road up to 50 miles long. If commissioners recommend the lower limit, DOT will conduct an engineering study to determine whether a lower speed is warranted. Then the proposal will go before the five-member Montana Transportation Commission. From 1994 to 1998, the accident rate on U.S. 191 was 1.75 for every million-vehicle miles driven in the canyon, compared with a state rate of 1.33. The percentage of all accidents that are fatal, however, is slightly lower in the canyon than statewide. "There is a perception of a high number of fatalities in the Gallatin Canyon," said DOT spokesman Dennis Unsworth in Helena. "They are big news. But (U.S.) Highway 93 between Evaro and Polson had four times as many." It also has twice as much traffic, he said. Still, the highway's accident rate is significant, Unsworth said. "The Gallatin Canyon is a winding, narrow road with severe weather conditions and a mix of slow-moving and fast-moving traffic," he said. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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