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Montana Proposes Bill to Force Cyclists to Ride on the Wrong Side of Road

Three legislators in the State of Montana introduced a bill to change existing laws and force cyclists on public roads to ride on the wrong side of the road, opposite the flow of traffic, and directly towards oncoming vehicles

2025-cyclist-collision

Montana legislators introduced the bill last week, House Bill 124 is titled: An act revising bicycle laws; providing that bicycles must be ridden opposite the flow of traffic unless ridden with a flag vehicle escort; and repealing sections 61-8-602 and 61-8-605, MCA

Supposedly, it will make it safer to ride, “This change aims to enhance safety for both cyclists and motorists.”

The actual bill text, introduced by legislators Albus, Tilleman, and Ler, reads:

Section 1. Riding on roadways.

(1) A person operating a bicycle on a roadway without a flag vehicle escort shall ride opposite the flow of traffic. 12

(2) A person operating a bicycle on a roadway with a flag vehicle escort shall ride with the flow of traffic.

For more on the bill, see: https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/mt/2025/bills/MTB00017451

This isn't the first time Montana legislators have attempted to change bicycle laws.

In January 2017 a draft bill was proposed ban cyclists from two-lane rural roads without a shoulder or cycle lane running alongside, effectively banning cyclists from a large number of the state’s roads, forcing them off road or onto gravel roads instead.

In April 2017, Montana state Senator Scott Sales proposed an out-of-state riders fee of $25. 

Sales called cyclists “some of the rudest and self-centered people he'd ever encountered,". He was trying to pass an amendment to force visiting cyclists to purchase a $25 sticker to help fund the state's fight against an "invasive mussel". 

Social Media Backlash

Social media has been abaze with comments, one Gran Fondo Guide follower commented:

"As a Montana resident, half of these drivers are drunk, looking at their cell phones, or operating a pickup of such mass that they’ve no f*cking clue what’s going on around them. I don’t want to ride with them, I don’t want to ride against them."

"Worth mentioning, also, that this bill, if passed, won’t do sh*t. If a Montanan has decided they’re not in the mood to ride against traffic, they’re not going to ride against traffic. This decision will be made with the understanding that there isn’t a cop in the state who’ll do anything about it."

Highest Number of Drunk Drivers

Montana has the highest percentage of total traffic fatalities that involves alcohol compared to any other state at a whopping 48%.

Photo: Cycling Montana’s Beartooth Highway, ‘the most beautiful drive in America’

Cycling Montana’s Beartooth Highway, ‘the most beautiful drive in America’