On The Horizon - June 17, 2024

US 212 Closure June 17-21

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) is announcing that summer road work on a 12-mile portion of US Highway 212 (US 212) east of Lame Deer is scheduled to commence in June. The project begins just east of the junction with Montana Highway 39 (MT 39) at the roundabout in Lame Deer and extends east. The contractor selected for work on this project is Prince, Inc.

Montana Truck Driving Championship!

The Truck Driving Championship was held on Saturday June 8th! It was a fabulous competition with some amazing drivers! We had 38 drivers in 9 classes! See Link for photos of the day!

Grand Champion: Lyle Turville - Decker Truck line, Inc

Rookie of the Year: Dyllan Dekievit - FedEx Freight, Inc

3-Axle: Dyllan Dekievit - FedEx Freight

4-Axle: David Henslee - Old Dominion freight Line, Inc

5-Axle: Scott Lorio - FedEx Freight, Inc

Flatbed: Chad Vermundson - FedEx Freight, Inc

Sleeper Berth: Lyle Turville - Decker Truck Line, Inc

Tank Truck: Donald Jones - FedEx Freight, Inc

Twin Trailers: Matthew Ybarraflores - FedEx Freight, Inc

Straight Truck: Joseph Ball - FedEx Freight, Inc

Step Van: Rafael Marquez - FedEx Corporation

A big thank you to all our sponsors, volunteers and equipment sponsors for helping make this event happen! Stay tuned for more photos!

Montana's 2024 Roadway Fatalities and Fatal Crashes

Will's Safety Message

One of the easiest things an equipment operator can do to stay safe is to fasten his or her seat belt. Wearing a seat belt protects against injury in the event of a serious accident. It can also help the operator maintain control during sudden extreme movement.  

From 1975 to 2017, seat belts are estimated to have saved 374,276 lives. More recent estimates are unavailable yet, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that using lap and shoulder seat belts reduces the risk of: 

• Front seat passenger car occupant deaths by 45% 

• Front seat passenger car occupant moderate to critical injuries by 50% 

• Front seat light truck occupant deaths by 60% 

• Front seat light truck occupant moderate to critical injuries by 65% 

Starting with the COVID-19 pandemic it appears that seat belt use was negatively impacted. The percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant deaths increased from 46.6% in 2019 to 50.9% in 2020 and has now dropped slightly to 49.8% in 2022. However, even with this setback, the data clearly reflects the safety impact of seat belt use. In 2000, only 70.7% of front seat passengers were observed using seat belts, and 60.2% of occupant deaths were unrestrained. The 2022 data show that seat belt use is at 91.6%, and unrestrained occupant deaths currently account for 49.8% of deaths. Encouragingly, 2023 seat belt usage has further increased to 91.9%. 

Seat belt use estimates come from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), conducted annually by NHTSA. NOPUS includes the observation of drivers and right-front passengers of passenger vehicles with no commercial or governmental markings. 

Stay Safe!