Hwy 212 in Montana

I like running across 212.
Many trucks speed on that route.
I guess that is why the round-about was built, to make traffic slow down in town.

Even thou you may not agree with the locals living environment. Doesn't give anyone the right to disregard the driving laws.

Speeding and tailgating is a common occurrence along that route.

 

Highway 212 in Montana was one of my first and most memorable runs.

I started at CR England in 2010 and knew their lease program was a scam. The only way around this was to run Relief/Recovery for them picking up trucks after a wreck or covering for drivers who needed a week or two off. I took over for a guy in Seattle and promptly got a load to Pittsburgh, PA.. I'd been driving for all of two months.

It was Christmas Eve. I was extremely tight on time and completely ignorant of the roads/parking situation. The only way to make an on time delivery was 11 hour days all the way to PA. A late delivery would likely get me taken off relief/recovery. Running over my hours might get me fired.

I took highway 212 in Montana, pushing hard to make time. I soon realized I was going to run out of time and that that stretch of road doesn't allow room for trucks to just pull off and park. It became clear I was soooo very screwed so I did what many others do who have screwed themselves - I prayed the most fervent prayer of my life for a place to park. Five minutes left on my clock and I pull into Alzada, MT and see the most beautiful sight of my life: A biker bar with a gigantic parking lot. It was the Christmas miracle that saved my career.

In 10 years of mostly OTR driving since then, that's the only load I ever drove through Montana.

 

212 has a lot of areas to pull off, harder to notice at night. Supplied with garbage cans, some people don't know how to use.
Yes that stop sign, I've seen a few people use it like it is a suggestion box. Some used it, some didn't. Including the four wheelers.
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Coming down the hill passing by the casino, sometimes there is a bit of traffic. Especially on check day.

 

If speeding is the issue, then it's an enforcement issue. The Montana Highway Patrol should be doing their job.

 

It's kind of hard to blame them when it's sovereign land lol

 

True it's sovereign land but it's a US/State Hwy that runs thru it. The Hwy is maintained by state workers (snow plows etc.) The tribes have their own police but enforcement is a joint venture. On a Hwy thru Indian land your much more likely to meet a state trooper than you are a tribal law enforcement officer. Interstate 90 goes thru the Crow Reservation, 212 goes thru the Crow and the Cheyenne Reservation.

I spent most of my life living in Wy and Mt living very close to Indian Reservations. I stand by what I said before, if the issue is speeding trucks then it's an enforcement issue.

 

I was an LEO in central North Dakota. In the way the laws are written, police officers, deputies, and troopers may investigate crimes on sovereign land, however, if they happen to get involved in a shooting or a use of force altercation, they would not be protected by any state statutes. If I was chasing a car and it was heading for the reservation, I turned my lights off and drove in the opposite direction. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Police are a federal agency and ultimately have jurisdiction superceding the state, county and local governments.

If you want to complain about the HP not doing their jobs, ask yourself if you would want to be put in the situation of doing your job as a highway patrolman, stopping a car for speeding and end up in some kind of altercation that could potentially end your career. The BIA has their own police force, let them deal with the speeding vehicles on their land.

 

Your interpretation, the Montana State Troopers cannot write speeding tickets on Interstate 90 between Hardin Mt and the Wyoming state line. That's 57 miles of Interstate Hwy.

My understanding of how it works is... if a non Indian LEO stops an Indian on the Hwy the LEO cannot issue a citation unless he calls in the Indian LEO. Then the Indian issues the citation if he wants to, but the non Indian LEO can issue citations to non Indians.

I'm only talking about traffic citations on state and federal highways running thru the reservation, not talking about crimes on Indian land. The white man LEO has No authority on the reservation other than issuing traffic citations to non Indians on state and federal highways.

 

I'm not going to beat this topic to death. The BIA has their own police and it's much less of a hassle to just let them handle the reservation policing as opposed to trying to determine what jurisdictional boundaries are and what you can and cannot do. I'm just saying, don't blame the HP for not running traffic when it's ultimately not their responsibility in the first place