Beefed-up Colorado traction law signed, will restrict 2WDs on I-70 in the mountains most of the year (Morrison: rental car, ski resorts)

[Vision67]

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/1...-traction-law/

"Colorado’s winter driving restrictions on a mountain stretch of Interstate 70 will be in full force for nine months beginning Sept. 1 under a bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Jared Polis.

The beefed-up traction law takes particular aim at drivers of two-wheel-drive passenger vehicles. Each September through May, they will face the requirement of having specialized winter tires or carrying traction devices while traveling on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison. The old traction law had been activated only before and during actual winter weather.

House Bill 1207 also increases the minimum tread depth for tires on all vehicles — including those with four-wheel-drive — from an eighth of an inch to three-sixteenths of an inch.

Though I-70 is the only highway corridor where the increased restrictions will be in effect for nine months a year, they will apply to other corridors when the state activates the traction law for storms.

“While the views can be breathtaking, the conditions can be downright frightening during the winter,” Polis said in remarks prepared for the afternoon bill-signing ceremony near the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel. “We know how dangerous they can be without having chains, tread depth or four-wheel drive. This bill will help keep drivers safer on the road.”"

I think this is a good idea. Personally, I've used Winter tires (Blizzaks) for years. They make a huge improvement to the ability to stop on an icy road.

I don't agree that having a tread depth of just 6/32 on all season tires on a 4WD vehicle provides equal stopping ability. For stopping, 4WD is irrelevant.

[johninvegas]

Originally Posted by Vision67

[ For stopping, 4WD is irrelevant.

Not quite irrelevant, but you do have to know what you are doing. With 4x4, you can use your gears to slow down to a stop with much better control than with 2x4. I would agree that most people who own 4x4 vehicles don't know how to drive in inclement weather and depend on 4x4 to do everything for them. I see many 4x4 vehicles in wrecks when if the driver only had a 2x4 vehicle, they wouldn't attempt to do the things they are doing in a 4x4.

[townshend]

Take home for traveling I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison:

1) the winter driving traction laws begun on September 1 -- not when the first winter weather hits -- and run continuously for nine months.

2) increase tread depth by 1/16 of an inch (1/4 > 3/16)

3) same winter driving rules will apply to other corridors when state activates them

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by johninvegas

Not quite irrelevant, but you do have to know what you are doing. With 4x4, you can use your gears to slow down to a stop with much better control than with 2x4. I would agree that most people who own 4x4 vehicles don't know how to drive in inclement weather and depend on 4x4 to do everything for them. I see many 4x4 vehicles in wrecks when if the driver only had a 2x4 vehicle, they wouldn't attempt to do the things they are doing in a 4x4.

I had a Jeep Wrangler (obviously 4x4) when I lived in Colorado, which I still have. I never had problems, but I kept good tires on it which were all terrain as I off roaded a lot, but they were also good in snow. I-70 can get pretty wild in the winter, and with all the traffic going and coming from the ski resorts this is probably a good idea. Yes, I have sat for hours on 70 due to accidents and stuck cars ahead.

[StealthRabbit]

pretty Ironic we are still in INCHES I though Andrew Johnson (1866) Richard Nixon (1973) Ford (1975) had finally fixed that...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ars-180964147/


And many of us were NOT stuck for decades of driving trucks and school buses OVER the passes,,, No I-70, No tunnels, pre-radial tires...

Life is better now, and the nanny regs usually close the roads BEFORE stuff gets too deep... yet there are those who are incapable and need to be 'protected' (enforced to comply).

Good for business (more Gov Jobs, more things for lawmakers to fret over besides progressive community development or the tough dilemmas in politics (over which they might lose their job))


Win:Win

[ryanek9freak]

You should read the comment section of any facebook story on this. All the poors with bald tires are up in arms over what they perceive as an infringement on their "rights" lol...

[bluescreen73]

And of course the rental car agencies have zero culpability. If they send someone into the mountains with an ill-equipped car, the renter gets to pay the fine. Typical.

[Phil P]

How are they enforcing this? For instance, if I want to take my 2wd Mazda up skiing in April when there's no snow on the roads, am I getting pulled over?

I think this is probably a smart idea, but I hope they enforce it only at times when there's snow on the road or in the forecast. I don't think they should be pulling the autumn leaf observers over in October if there's no snow in the forecast.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Phil P

How are they enforcing this? For instance, if I want to take my 2wd Mazda up skiing in April when there's no snow on the roads, am I getting pulled over?

I think this is probably a smart idea, but I hope they enforce it only at times when there's snow on the road or in the forecast. I don't think they should be pulling the autumn leaf observers over in October if there's no snow in the forecast.

The enforcement is simple. If you cause a traffic jam because you get stuck, you pay.

[brown_dog_us]

Does this only apply to Colorado vehicles?