But he said, “The faster you go, the less time you have to react and the harder you stop. We’re going to have the overall goal of safety and crash reduction in mind. I’m not sure where we will land on them.”

Other states have increased speed limits along long straight sections of interstates, not two-lane highways, Butler said.

“Our overall goal is to keep everyone in one piece and get them home safe,” Butler said. “Most crashes are a whole lot of little things that come together and become one big thing.”

As an example, he cited drivers becoming distracted as they adjust the temperature or radio in their vehicle. The question, Butler said, is whether a driver can make those adjustments easily at 75 mph but perhaps not at 80 mph.

“That’s our concern,” the Highway Patrol chief added. “If we go up another 5 mph, we can have serious consequences.”

Curt Rissmann, a data specialist for the Montana Highway Patrol, said it’s hard to prove that if someone had driven slower, that person might have been able to avoid a wreck.

But he said the laws of physics do come into play: “When you’re going 85 mph, it’s going to take longer to stop.”