On a trip over Monarch Pass, state Rep. Michael Merrifield sat in a line of 40 cars chugging uphill behind a slow-moving RV. He was certain the 20-mile-an-hour traffic blocker would pull over to allow cars to pass at the top of the incline.
“But no, he went all the way down the other side,” the Manitou Springs Democrat said. “It was infuriating.”
That experience and dozens of others spurred Merrifield to introduce a bill that would penalize slow-moving drivers who do not safely pull over when there are five or more cars backed up behind them. He sees it as a way to encourage courtesy and prevent road rage and dangerous passing maneuvers on state highways.
House Bill 1042, first pooh-poohed by a summer transportation panel, has found better success in the legislature as the proposal garners public attention and support.
It heads to a vote on the House floor after passing out of the House Transportation Committee on an 8-2 vote.
One of those opposing it was Highlands Ranch Rep. Frank McNulty, who said it would be hard to uniformly enforce the proposed law.
“What do we mean by slow-moving vehicle?” asked McNulty, a Republican. “There are already laws on the books that allow officials to cite people impeding traffic.”
The bill would require slow drivers to use the right-hand lane or pull over at the first safe opportunity to allow cars to pass.
Traffic authorities could issue citations when five or more cars line up behind a vehicle traveling below the posted speed limit unless weather or other conditions require slow going.
Violators would face $56 in fines and points on their driving record.
Colorado would join a dozen other states in using the number of cars trailing a vehicle to determine whether the driver is impeding traffic.
Every “driver in the state has experienced a place where so many people were backed up that somebody passes in a completely dangerous manner that puts all of our lives at risk,” Merrifield said. The bill “just seems so reasonable.”
He said he has the support of the Colorado Highway Patrol and the trucking association.
Another bill aimed at safer driving would ban motorists from using hand-held cellphones while driving.
Cabbies and drivers younger than 18 couldn’t talk on the phone while driving under Boulder Democratic Rep. Claire Levy’s House Bill 1094.
The proposal, which has yet to be tested in the legislature, follows the death late last year of a Fort Collins girl killed by a driver believed to have been distracted by a cellphone.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
