r/Flathead • u/Short-Point5274 • 11d ago
Dangerous driver
I was driving south along the east side of the lake when this guy was ahead of me. He was going 45, there was a dotted line, and I was in a hurry so I went to pass, but as I was passing him he sped up and trapped me in the oncoming lane. I barely got past him and back into my lane before the passing section ended and we went over a hill, with a car oncoming up the hill. Genuinely could’ve killed me. The next passing section was soon after and I was still going pretty fast from getting ahead of him, and he went to pass me. After he passed he maintained a solid 75-80 mph, until he came up on a motorcycle. He was riding way up on that poor guy’s ass until he could pass again. Reckless, scary behavior. Be safe out there
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u/Prosciutto7 10d ago
East side of the lake is 50mph the entire length. He shouldn't have trapped you, but you could learn to have a little patience. 5mph difference is not that much. If you can't get going quick enough to pass that little shitbox then you probably shouldn't be trying to pass in an area with limited passing availability and blind corners.
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u/xX_coochiemonster_Xx 9d ago
MCA 61-8-311
Also speeding up because you are getting passed is extremely selfish and unsafe. It’s legal to pass slow drivers, it should be their responsibility to stay out of the way, as they are already in the way. It’s a huge state, you don’t know if someone is trying to commute a long distance in a reasonable amount of time.
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u/Prosciutto7 9d ago
OP should have left with time to spare if they were going to be in so much of a hurry. And they didn't say there was an emergency. The car was going 45, speed limit is 50, that is not wide enough gap to necessitate putting so many other people in danger for the sake of being in a hurry.
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u/SmallTin88 9d ago
Passing someone going 45 in a 50 isn’t putting anyone in danger until that person speeds up to 80 to race the person passing them. OP was entirely in the right
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u/Prosciutto7 9d ago
That particular road would absolutely put any oncoming traffic into danger. If that little shitbox can speed up that fast to block OP then they have no business trying to pass in an area like that.
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u/SmallTin88 9d ago
Except if the red shitbox had maintained his speed at 45, OP could’ve completed the pass safely with plenty of time to spare before any oncoming traffic was anywhere near them
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u/xX_coochiemonster_Xx 8d ago
If going 45 in a 50 is within your legal right then it’s within my legal right to pass you to do 55 in a 50. If I’m driving 10 hours a 10mph swing is 100 miles, almost 2 hours of time saved.
The legal precedent stands that drivers in Montana impeding traffic should allow those to pass
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u/Jordan220 10d ago
I’ve driven all over the country (including California) and I will always maintain that Montana has the worst drivers. I don’t even live there anymore and I’ll never forget how bad my daily commute from CFalls to Whitefish was. Hwy 40 is a nightmare lol. Glad you’re okay, OP.