Colorado’s main corridor through the mountains was shut down 116 hours last year and 25 hours so far this winter while tractor-trailer rigs without chains clogged the road.
Mountain communities along Interstate 70 are fed up, blaming truckers who disobey the chain law for causing safety hazards and highway closures that harm the economy.
A proposed law being debated in the Colorado legislature would increase the fine from $100 to $500 for truckers who disobey chain requirements.
The legislation, from Rep. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, also would slap four points on the driving records of truckers who disobey the state’s chain law and cause traffic to stall.
The threat of steeper fines and scarred driving records would force more drivers to pull off the road and chain up, bill supporters said.
Police often hear from truck drivers that their employers tell them to ignore chain requirements, said Silverthorne Police Chief Joe Russell. Their attitude is “Go on up. If you get stuck, we’ll take care of the issue,” Russell testified before a House committee Thursday.
House Bill 1229 pits truck drivers who carry gasoline and groceries into the mountains against law officers, the ski industry and the economic-development crowd.
Truckers said it’s unfair to impose stricter penalties because I-70’s 10 chain-up stations are sometimes dark, unplowed and too close to the highway. They said some of the chain-up spots are so small that it’s difficult for drivers to obey the requirement of staying at least 5 feet off the road.
“It comes down to which law you want to break,” said Dean Teter of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association.
Traffic tie-ups for hours
It costs an estimated $800,000 per hour to the tourism industry, commerce and travel when I-70 shuts down during peak times, said Jeff Kullman, who oversees the I-70 corridor for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Mayors and county commissioners testified that road closures can tie up traffic for hours, preventing police and ambulances from reaching mountain residents. And tractor-trailer rigs that lose traction on the steep grades of I-70 are a threat to other drivers.
Mike Spies, an Empire town councilman, said he has had to scramble out of the way of a semi sliding back toward his car three times in the past two years. He begged the House transportation committee to “put enough teeth” into the law so “unprofessional drivers” feel compelled to put on chains.
But truck drivers said the bill misplaces the blame.
Colorado should invest more money in chain-up areas and consider better ways to clean snow and ice off I-70, they said. They pointed to the death of a Loveland truck driver last month who was struck by a sport utility vehicle in a chain- up area outside Georgetown.
Senate President Joan Fitz- Gerald, D-Jefferson County, is the Senate sponsor of the bill.
If it passes, Colorado would become the first state to deduct driver’s-license points from truckers who cause traffic jams, said Greg Fulton, president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association.
Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, who chairs the transportation committee, postponed a vote on the bill to see whether truck drivers and community leaders could compromise.
Gibbs said he has enough votes on the committee to pass the bill and does not want to compromise on the driving- points issue.
Taking the truckers’ side
A few Republicans on the committee sided with truckers.
After Vail Mountain’s Bill Jen sen mentioned that the ski business – including restaurants, hotels and shops – is a $2.6 billion industry in Colorado, Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, asked how the industry gets its goods.
“Obviously, by truck,” Jensen said, eliciting jeers from transportation-industry supporters in the audience.
It typically takes about 45 minutes to put on chains, and oftentimes, snow and winds are blowing.
Fraser truck driver Tom Waldow lamented that truckers are blamed for causing safety hazards when they have to navigate treacherous roads where reckless car drivers cut them off.
“It’s like the truckers are kind of this bastardized society,” Waldow said. “At one time, I was going to start a trucker-appreciation committee.”
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
