Dear Editor,
The Montana Highway Patrol MHP recently announced that they call this time period “THE DEADLIEST 100 DAYS” on Montana roads. Their spokesperson stated all troopers would be working extra or double shifts to try and stop the carnage on Montana’s highways.
They must be working these extra shifts up in Cut Bank or Plentywood because I haven’t seen any in Billings. I keep a very accurate log book of my travels for business, and the time period between May 29 through June 5,2021, I traveled 819 miles. These are an even mix of Interstate, state highways like 312 and 212, county roads and city streets. These travels were in a basic triangle from Pompey’s Pillar to Molt and down to Red Lodge. In all that travel I saw exactly two troopers, one looked like was going to a call on Old Hardin Road Lockwood, and the other was in a line of traffic headed into Red Lodge.
Doesn’t look like extra patrols to me. When you do see a trooper, he’s usually sitting in the same interstate cross-over chain munching donuts, slurping coffee and playing solitaire on his dash computer. The only speeder they are going to catch that way is a sleepy tourist. It’s almost a daily occurrence for me to be passed be a semi doing 75-80mph, and cars doing 90mph in the stretch between Laurel and Lockwood where the speed limit is 65mph. Why don’t you try sitting back on the ramp or use an unmarked car with a pursuit car, then you will catch the habitual speeder, like those rolling coal fools or the kids with their fart tube rice burners.
And chief, your Billings Police Department BPD is no better. I had an upper-level official tell me straight up that there are about 30 officers per shift and only two are assigned to traffic; the rest are doing who knows what because as we all see crime is rampant. More murders, stabbings, shootings and thefts than ever before. Don’t worry about red light running, stop sign rolling or speeding tickets, the officer in traffic next to you is way too important to make a measly traffic stop. And you see them all the time with some traffic offender lit up on the side of the road.
Maybe the best use of the MHP would be to trade their cruisers for kennel trucks and side arms for catch poles and a name change to MHPP, Montana Humane Puppy Patrol. They might be better at catching dogs.
As I finish this letter, I checked MHP’s website for the highway death toll, 90 so far for 2021 as compared to 55 last year at this time and last year was a record 213, so I don’t think my comments are out of line.
David Paul
Billings, MT
