Montana House Passes Bill to Give Towing Vehicles Right-of-Way in Roundabouts

Senate Bill 433 changes regulations for how vehicles approach roundabouts

By Jordan Hansen for the Daily Montanan

A Montana Department of Transportation graphic illustrates how to navigate a double roundabout. (Courtesy image)

The Montana House unanimously passed a bill addressing how vehicles approach roundabouts on Friday, specifically adding stipulations into the law giving preference for vehicles towing a load.

Senate Bill 433, brought by Senator Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, changes regulations for how vehicles approach roundabouts. Hauling vehicles will legally be allowed to deviate from their lane to move through a traffic circle. Other autos in the roundabout must yield to hauling vehicles.

Manzella said during a House Transportation Committee hearing on March 21 the legislation stemmed from discussions over a roundabout on Highway 93 at its intersection with Bell Crossing near Victor and subsequent town halls about the topic. “When you are a tow vehicle pulling a trailer, we feel that that tow vehicle needs to be given the right-of- way,” Manzella said. “Because of the fact that when you’re entering the roundabout, your rear tires don’t necessarily track. They want to crowd to the inside.”

There’s also usually a berm on roundabouts, Manzella said, which can cause whatever’s being hauled around to move around. Constituents said this was the problem, and it’s also been a complaint from trucking companies across the country.

“For me, it’s my horses, which are precious, and I don’t dare bludgeon them,” Manzella said. “ …I have had that happen before, where they have injured their pretty little faces, pushing themselves, getting bumped into the trailer wall.”

The bill will also have an impact on double-lane roundabouts, which can be used on four-lane highways. It allows trailers to legally deviate from one of the lanes.

Manzella’s legislation received support from the Montana Department of Transportation, which maintains a database of roundabouts across the state. Roundabouts are generally safer than four-way intersections, as the possibility of T-bone collisions is drastically reduced, according to MDOT.

“Not every intersection demands a roundabout, but for those that do, this is an important tool for us to have in our toolbox, and any effort that we can make to make them safer is a welcome opportunity,” said Larry Flynn, MDOT deputy director during the bill’s House hearing. “I think this is a good, common sense approach to help improve the safety of an already safe tool.”

After a final procedural approval in the House, the bill will head to the governor’s desk.