Rough winter for semi wrecks on I-90

This has been a harsher winter with both snow accumulation and cold temperatures than the last few years. It has been especially noticeable when driving.

“Our first priority with every snowfall is I-90,” reports Megan Redmond with the Montana Department of Transportation in Missoula. “We, the state, are responsible for plowing the interstates and then we can get to the state roads and county when needed. They go by the ADT (Average Daily Traffic) at that point.”

Redmond shared news about their snow plows being involved in accidents each winter from other drivers.

“On average we have about 24 snow plows that are hit from behind by drivers going too fast or possibly not seeing them especially as they are kicking up snow while plowing. People will now see flashing green lights up high on the cab or over the dump. This is brand new and was a safety precaution passed in the last Legislature to have green lights installed on plows and sanders. It’s a different color so that it is recognizable from traffic in all directions,” she shared.

The flashing orange lights will remain, but drivers will now know if it’s a tow truck, working state vehicle or even a mail carrier with the absence of green lights.

“This has definitely been a hard winter,” said Sgt. Shawn Smalley with the Montana Highway Patrol when talking about the weather-related accidents. “There are multiple factors that have made it hard like lots of snow, ice, temperature swings, freezing rain. I would say that most of the crashes are still passenger vehicles, but the big crashes that block the interstate have been CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle). The number of CMV’s on the road is increasing and we can expect more over the years.”

One semi accident near I-90 eastbound mile marker 53 claimed the life of the driver and caused several more jack-knifed rigs trying to slow down as they approached the accident area.

“The MHP does not track if CMV drivers are from out of state or from out of the country,” explained Sgt. Jay Nelson, Public Information Officer for the MHP.

This was in response to out-of-state, or even out-of-country CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) operators being unfamiliar with winter driving conditions in Montana.

“Federal commercial motor vehicle law requires that commercial drivers read and speak English sufficiently to converse with the general public, understand highway traffic signs and signals, respond to official inquiries and make entries on reports and records. The MHP enforces this law, however, does not track this as a cause of crashes. I can speak for my career and say that in my 23 years with MHP, I do not remember a time where this was a cause of a crash involving a commercial motor vehicle,” Nelson shared when asked about the possibility of a language barrier.

Foreigners obtaining a CDL are required to provide authorized presence – green card, visa and passport are examples. They must prove validity in the U.S. for at least three months or more and have a Social Security number. Plus, they must have proof of residency showing a residential address.

For their written test, knowledge testing is available in English via a paper or electronic tablet test. Oral translators are available by phone or by Zoom for translation of the paper test. And finally on the Driving Test, an examiner accompanies the tester for pre-trip and skills testing. Skills testing must be done in English without translators as all traffic signs are in English.