Title 61, Title 61

A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer, and a combination of these vehicles, except motorcycles, quadricycles, and motor-driven cycles, equipped with brakes must have one control device that can be used to operate all service brakes. This requirement does not proh…

(1) A bus, truck, or truck tractor with air operated brakes must be equipped with at least one reservoir sufficient to ensure that, when fully charged to the maximum pressure as regulated by the air compressor governor cutout setting, a full service brake application is made with…

(1) A bus, truck, or truck tractor using compressed air for the operation of its own brakes or the brakes on a towed vehicle must have a warning signal, other than a pressure gauge, readily audible or visible to the driver that will operate at any time the air reservoir pressure …

On a dry, hard, approximately level stretch of highway free from loose material, a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, upon application of the service brake, must be capable of stopping at a speed of 20 miles an hour within the following distances: (1) 25 feet for passenger…

All brakes shall be maintained in good working order and shall be so adjusted as to operate as equally as practicable with respect to the wheels on opposite sides of the vehicle.

(1) The term "hydraulic brake fluid" as used in this section shall mean the liquid medium through which force is transmitted to the brakes in the hydraulic brake system of a vehicle. (2) Hydraulic brake fluid shall be distributed and serviced with due regard for the safety of the…

(1) The department is authorized to require an inspection of the brake on any motor-driven cycle and to disapprove any brake which it finds will not comply with the performance ability standard set forth in this part or which in its opinion is not designed or constructed to insur…

(1) A commercial motor vehicle equipped with an engine compression brake device must be equipped with a muffler in good working condition to prevent excessive noise. (2) An operator of a commercial motor vehicle that has an engine compression brake device with a factory-installed…

(1) A motor vehicle when operated upon a highway must be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet. A horn or other warning device may not emit an unreasonably loud or harsh s…

(1) A police vehicle must be equipped with a siren capable of giving an audible signal and may be equipped with alternately flashing or rotating red or blue lights as specified in this section. (2) An authorized emergency vehicle must be equipped: (a) with a siren and an alternat…

(1) Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device upon a motor vehicle on a highway. (…

A motor vehicle must be equipped with a mirror that reflects to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the motor vehicle.

(1) A motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, quadricycle, motor-driven cycle, or farm tractor, must be equipped with a front windshield meeting the requirements of 61-9-408, unless the driver wears safety glasses, goggles, or face shields at all times during the operation of the mot…

(1) A solid rubber tire on a vehicle must have rubber on its entire traction surface at least 1 inch thick above the edge of the flange of the entire periphery. (2) A person may not operate or move on a highway a motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer having a metal tire in conta…

(1) A person may not move, or permit to be moved, a vehicle, except a motorcycle, quadricycle, motor-driven cycle, or farm tractor, as defined in this title, upon the public highways without having first equipped the rearmost wheels or set of wheels of the vehicle with fenders, s…

(1) A person may not sell a new motor vehicle and a new motor vehicle may not be registered unless the vehicle is equipped with safety glazing material wherever glazing material is used in doors, windows, and windshields. These provisions apply to all passenger-type motor vehicle…

(1) An automobile that was manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1965, and on or before January 1, 1968, must be equipped with safety belts installed for use in the left front and right front seats. (2) A motor vehicle manufactured after January 1, 1968, must be equipped at …

(1) No person shall operate any motor truck of 1-ton capacity or greater, passenger bus, or truck tractor upon any highway outside the corporate limits of municipalities at any time unless there shall be carried in such vehicle, except as provided in subsection (2), the following…

(1) Whenever a motor truck, passenger bus, truck, tractor, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer is disabled upon the traveled portion of any highway or the shoulder of a highway outside of any municipality at any time when lighted lamps are required on vehicles, the driver of th…

(1) Any person operating any vehicle transporting any explosive as a cargo or part of a cargo upon a highway shall at all times comply with the provisions of this section. (2) Said vehicle shall be marked or placarded on each side and the rear with the word "EXPLOSIVES" in letter…

(1) A truck or truck trailer combination, except pole trailers, actively engaged in transporting logs must be equipped with chains, cables, steel straps, or fiber webbing with working load limits that meet or exceed the manufacturer's marked value. The number of tie-down assembli…

(1) It is unlawful for a person to operate on a state highway, a farm, rural, or county road, or a city street of this state a slow-moving vehicle or equipment, an animal-drawn vehicle, or any other machinery, including all road construction or maintenance machinery, except when …

(1) "Commercial tow truck" means a motor vehicle operating for compensation that is equipped with specialized equipment designed and intended for towing or the recovery of wrecked, disabled, or abandoned vehicles or other objects creating a hazard on the public roadways. If a tow…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), an operator and passenger under 18 years of age of a motorcycle, moped, motorized scooter, or quadricycle operated on the streets or highways of this state shall wear protective headgear on the head. The headgear must meet standard…

(1) All motorcycles or quadricycles operated on the streets and highways of this state must be equipped at all times with noise suppression devices, including an exhaust muffler, in good working order and in constant operation. In addition, all motorcycles and quadricycles operat…

(1) As used in 61-9-420 through 61-9-423 and this section, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply: (a) "Booster seat" means a child safety restraint system that meets applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards and is designed to provide belt…

(1) A motor vehicle passenger who is under 2 years of age must be properly restrained in a rear-facing child safety restraint system that complies with federal motor vehicle safety standards. (2) A motor vehicle passenger who is between 2 years of age and up to 4 years of age mus…

Section 61-9-420 is not applicable as follows: (1) if a vehicle is a motor home, school bus, taxicab, farm tractor, bicycle, moped, quadricycle, motorcycle, or motor-driven cycle or is not required to be equipped with safety belts under 49 CFR 571 as it reads on January 3, 2025; …

Evidence of compliance or failure to comply with 61-9-420 is admissible in any civil action for personal injury or property damage resulting from the use or operation of a motor vehicle, but failure to comply with 61-9-420 does not alone constitute negligence.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), violation of 61-9-420 is punishable by a fine of not more than $100. (2) The fine provided for in subsection (1) must be waived if proof of acquisition of an appropriate child safety restraint is presented within 7 days of the violation t…

(1) Air-conditioning equipment must be maintained with due regard for the safety of the occupants of the vehicle, service technicians, and the public. (2) Air-conditioning equipment may contain only refrigerant that has been included in the list published by the United States env…

(1) Refrigerant not allowed to be used pursuant to 61-9-426 may not be sold for use in motor vehicles in Montana. (2) Motor vehicles and special mobile equipment with air-conditioning equipment that has refrigerants not allowed in 61-9-426, if installed prior to April 18, 2003, a…

The highway patrol or a local law enforcement agency may grant a waiver of the standards of 61-9-405(4) for reasons of safety or security or for medical reasons based on an affidavit signed by a licensed physician, licensed physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nur…

(1) A person who owns or operates a motor vehicle in violation of 61-9-405(4) is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable as provided in 46-18-212. (2) A person who applies a sunscreening material or a glass-plastic glazing material in a manner that results in a motor vehicle ha…

(1) A motor vehicle of less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or rating registered in Montana, except a motorcycle, a quadricycle, a motor-driven cycle, or a farm tractor, must be equipped with a front bumper and, unless the vehicle is equipped with work-performing features…

(1) The operator of a commercial tow truck, in compliance with the requirements of 61-8-906 and 61-8-907, shall, when rendering assistance at a hazard on the highway that necessitates the obstruction of a portion or all of the roadway exclusive of the berm or shoulder, place at l…

(1) Low-speed electric vehicles and medium-speed electric vehicles must be equipped with: (a) headlamps, front and rear turn signal lamps, taillamps, and stop lamps; (b) three red reflectors, two of which must be placed on each side as far to the rear of the vehicle as practicabl…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person may not operate a motor vehicle with an exhaust system that emits a noise in excess of 95 decibels, as measured by the society of automotive engineers' standard j1169 (May 1998). (2) This section does not apply to a motorcycle or…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), from October 1 through April 30, a person operating a motor truck of 26,001 GVW or greater towing a trailer on a mountain pass or on a similar stretch of highway designated by the department of transportation as a place where tract…

(1) A person may not knowingly: (a) import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in a motor vehicle a counterfeit supplemental restraint system component, a nonfunctional airbag, or an object that does not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. …

(1) The department or its agents may at any time upon reasonable cause to believe that a vehicle is unsafe or not equipped as required by law or that its equipment is not in proper adjustment or repair require the driver of the vehicle to stop and submit the vehicle to an inspect…

(1) The department shall perform the semiannual inspection of school buses, one of which shall be at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the school term, and reinspect the buses, if necessary, before the beginning of the school term. (2) The department's inspection shall dete…

(1) No person driving a vehicle may refuse to submit the vehicle to an inspection and test when required to do so by the department or an authorized officer or employee of the department. (2) Every owner or driver, upon receiving a notice as provided in 61-9-501, shall comply and…

The department is hereby empowered to make additional rules governing the use of safety equipment on motor vehicles, vehicles, and/or combination of vehicles, that is, trailer hitches, safety chains, mounts, tow bars, and other similar equipment as it shall deem advisable for the…

(1) It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this chapter unless the violation is declared to be a felony. (2) A person convicted of a misdemeanor for a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter for which another penalty is not provided shal…

(1) Any violation of any rules adopted by the department is a misdemeanor. (2) A person convicted of a violation of any standard adopted pursuant to 61-10-154 shall be fined not less than $25 or more than $500 for the first offense and not less than $25 or more than $1,000 for ea…