Three Fort Lewis College students returning from a vacation in Denver were recently informed that they would not be able to drive their vehicle over Wolf Creek Pass because of the insufficiency of the vehicle’s tires. The students were forced to circumvent the pass and ended up driving into northern New Mexico, taking Highway 84 into Pagosa Springs, which took them several hours off course.
“We were told my Mini Cooper wasn’t allowed on the pass because of the state’s traction law,” said the vehicle’s driver, Emily Staley, in a previous interview with The Durango Herald.
The law Staley was referring to is the Colorado Traction Law, signed by Gov. Jared Polis in 2019. The intention of the law is to “lessen delays and crashes along highways and I-70 from September to May,” according to Colorado Department of Transportation.
The state’s traction law requires that all motorists have 3/16” tire tread depth and an all-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicle, winter tires, tires with an all-weather rating, or mud/snow tires. If a vehicle has neither all-wheel or four-wheel drive or the adequate tires mentioned above, it must have chains or an approved alternative traction device, according to CDOT.
A common issue with Coloradans or tourists venturing onto snowy and ice-packed roads is the lack of sufficient tread on the tires, making the vehicle more susceptible to slipping and sliding on the road, creating a potential danger to the vehicle’s passengers and other motorists, especially on mountain passes. According to the American Automobile Association, snow and ice-impacted roads can cause vehicles to take 10 times longer to stop.
Tourist destinations like Durango also have to deal with unprepared out-of-town motorists, as well as an increase in transplants moving in from warmer states with little to no experience driving on snow-packed mountain roads.
“We’ve got folks who have been here a long time that know how to drive the winter roads, but we also have the transplants; the newer residents to the area who could be encountering a winter season for the first time,” said CDOT representative Lisa Schwantes. “You’ve also got visitors to the state and to our area, who are coming to enjoy the mountains and maybe some skiing and snowshoeing and have never encountered driving on snowpack winter roads.”
Schwantes recommends all Southwest Colorado motorists, whether seasoned winter drivers or warm weather novices, to follow the CDOT adage of “Know Before You Go.”
“That means knowing what the weather forecast is and checking what the road conditions are like before heading out,” she said. “One way that you can check on road conditions is by utilizing the state agency website of cotrip.org. We have an interactive map on there that shows what the conditions of the roads are like, whether they're dry, wet, or snow-packed and icy.”
Statistically, an average of 150,000 automobile accidents occur on icy roads in the U.S. every year, according to Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration. About 1,800 people die annually in accidents occurring during snowing conditions, and 135,000 more are injured.
The National Weather Service recently predicted another series of winter storms moving across Southwest Colorado this weekend, and Schwantes would like anyone planning on traveling in the snow road conditions to take extra precautions.
“Check the real-time cameras on our website,” she said. “Pack a winter emergency kit with water, snacks, blankets, extra warm clothes, a flashlight, a shovel and perhaps sand. Anything to be prepared.”
Schwantes also recommends rethinking those travel plans if the roads get too treacherous, even if vehicles meet Colorado’s traction law.
“Even if you’re ready to hit the road, if you can’t see blacktop, and all you're seeing is a white snowpack road, you might want to consider delaying your travel,” she said.
molsen@durangoherald.com
