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Senate concurs on traffic code cleanup that defines paved shoulders and permits bicyclists to ride two abreast; vote 30-20
Summary
House Bill 43, a code-cleanup measure that reorganizes traffic definitions and clarifies that bicyclists may operate on paved shoulders two abreast, passed the Senate on second reading following debate over shoulder width and cyclist safety.
Senator Logie, the bill carrier for House Bill 43, said the measure reorganizes and clarifies roadway and shoulder definitions in Title 61 and aligns Montana’s traffic code with other states. "This is a cleanup bill on some code. It pulls a few things out of, title 60 but cleans up the code in 61 which deals with, basically definitions," Logie said.
A point of contention during the debate was the effect of the definitions on bicyclist behavior. Senator McGilvray asked if the bill specified a minimum shoulder width for two-abreast bicycle riding; the carrier said it did not and that shoulders vary based on terrain and existing engineering decisions.
Senator McGilvray and others expressed safety concerns. "Sometimes I think some of these individuals who are riding bikes on the shoulders are ... their judgement may be lacking and I think it's dangerous," McGilvray said, adding he would not support the bill. Senator Fuller also asked whether many Montana highways lack shoulders; the carrier replied that in some places the shoulder is essentially the grass slope and that roadway engineering dictates width.
The sponsor said the bill was not intended to set specific width standards but to make definitions consistent across the code: "It wasn't making the rules to say that the shoulder had to be 6 inches, 2 inches, 3 feet. It was just cleaning up the code so there was con some consistency."
After debate, the Senate recorded 30 votes in favor and 20 opposed on second reading, carrying the measure forward. The committee and carrier framed the bill as a definitional cleanup rather than a new traffic rule, while opponents cited motorist and cyclist safety concerns where shoulders are narrow.
