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Bill would limit flashing green lights to snowplows and incident-command vehicles after MDT data on crash reductions
Summary
SB 111 would reserve flashing green lights for snowplows and authorized on-scene incident-command vehicles; MDT testimony said crashes involving snowplows dropped after green lights were installed, and industry and lawmakers raised questions about enforcement for modern vehicles with factory green lighting.
Senate Bill 111 would restrict the use of flashing green lights to government snowplows and authorized incident-command vehicles, sponsor Senator Denley Logie told the House Transportation Committee.
"The idea is initial recognition," Logie said, describing the green light as a signal drivers will associate with snowplows and incident command. He said the bill aims to keep the visual cue limited to state, county and city snowplows and to incident commanders to avoid dilution of that recognition.
Duane Williams, executive director of the Montana Trucking Association, testified in support: "It's very important to the trucking industry to have good plowed roads," Williams said, adding that measures that make snowplow drivers safer are welcome.
John Swartz, maintenance administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), provided informational testimony and data. Swartz said MDT saw about 30–40 snowplow-related crashes annually before 2022; after installing flashing green lights on the rear of snowplows, the agency recorded roughly 15–20 such crashes per year and about a 50% reduction in rear-end collisions. "We're in the 15 to 20 crashes a year," Swartz said, and noted the rear-mounted flasher placement was intentional because most crashes were rear-end collisions.
Lawmakers pressed technical issues: Representative Staffman said some electric vehicles (he cited a Rivian R1S) come from the factory with a green front accent bar and asked whether owners would be made illegal. Staffman said, "I sure as heck don't wanna make my car illegal." Sponsors and MDT suggested enforcement would likely turn on the intensity and flashing character of the green light and deferred detailed enforcement questions to highway patrol or local law enforcement.
Representative Cochran asked whether the statute already authorizes green lights for on-scene command vehicles; MDT cited Montana Code Annotated (MCA) 61-9-402(8) as the existing statutory authority describing an authorized emergency or incident command vehicle that may use a green flashing color for on-scene command. Committee members discussed whether to require definitions for "incident commander" and whether the bill should allow a noncontinuous or nonflashing green element to address concerns about tinted EV accents.
The sponsor asked for a do-pass recommendation and Representative Cochran agreed to carry the bill to the floor. The committee closed the SB 111 hearing without a recorded vote.
