There’s no better place to drive than Montana. If you wanted to drive from Alzada — in the far southeastern corner of the state — to Yaak — way up in the northwest corner — you’d cover about 800 miles, roughly the same distance as New York City to Chicago. Out here you can cruise your whole life without going down the same road twice.
But all that freedom comes with a risk, one backed up by Montana’s longstanding reputation as a dangerous place to drive. In 2023, 203 people were killed on the state’s highways. This year, we’re already at 72, outpacing last year, when the state had 67 fatalities at this time of year.
Drive long enough here and you’ll notice that between the road and the gorgeous views beyond lie reminders of that risk. Montana has been marking highway fatalities with crosses since 1953, when the American Legion started doing it in Missoula in response to a particularly deadly 1952 Labor Day, where six people were killed in one long weekend.
