Colorado State Patrol reviews increased chain law enforcement following ‘particularly challenging’ winter on I-70

The Colorado State Patrol says it issued citations for failure to carry chains to nearly 6% of commercial vehicles stopped during the weekly chain law enforcement operations it began conducting this winter on Interstate 70.

State Patrol Motor Carrier Safety Captain John Hahn said Tuesday, May 27, that troopers conducted 13 weekly surge enforcement in cooperation with local police departments and sheriff’s offices along the entire I-70 corridor this winter.

“We realize this last winter’s driving season was something that received a lot of attention on the I-70 corridor, and for very good reason,” Hahn said, speaking at Colorado State Patrol Academy in Golden. “I-70 is critically important to Colorado, this region and important to the nation as we move people and things, goods and services, from one part of the country to another.”

Due to the potential for harsh winter conditions in Colorado, commercial vehicles are required by law to carry chains from Sept. 1 through May 31 on I-70 and other mountain roads. Another state law allows transportation officials to “activate” chain law during adverse conditions, requiring commercial vehicles not only to carry chains but to put them on.

The purpose of the weekly chain law enforcement operations, which began in February, was to educate commercial drivers on the law and enforce the “must carry” chain law, Hahn said. Of the 1,836 commercial vehicles contacted during those weekly enforcement operations, troopers issued 109 citations for failure to carry chains, or about 6%, he said.

While the focus during those weekly operations was on commercial vehicles, Hahn said that law enforcement officers also contacted passenger motor vehicles, especially to enforce speeding infractions.

Law enforcement officers contacted 760 passenger vehicles during the weekly operations, issuing speeding citations to 399 passenger vehicles, or about 52% of the passenger vehicles stopped, Hahn said.

“We’ve all seen those instances of a passenger vehicle cutting off a truck or following too closely at excessive speeds,” Hahn said. “It’s really true across the board that it’s shared responsibility for driving conditions on I-70.”

Outside of those weekly operations, the Colorado State Patrol also conducted chain law enforcement at ports of entry, active chain-up stations and during daily roadside contacts, Hahn said. Anytime a state trooper stops a commercial vehicle, he said there is a “specific focus on making sure we’re checking for chains.”

Enforcement operations at the Dumont port of entry alone have resulted in 1,382 citations for trucks not carrying chains, a 30% increase from the number of failure to carry citations issued last year, Hahn said.

Additionally, Hahn said law enforcement officers this winter issued 374 citations to commercial vehicles that failed to chain up when chain law was in effect due to adverse conditions and 122 citations to commercial vehicles that did not chain up and ended up blocking a portion of the road.

There is a $133 fine for commercial drivers who fail to carry chains between Sept. 1 and May 31, a $579 fine for commercial drivers who fail to chain up while chain law is in effect due to adverse conditions, and a $1,157 fine for commercial drivers who end up blocking a lane due to failure to chain up, Hahn said.

“Understanding it was a particularly challenging year, we heard that feedback,” Hahn said. “I want folks to know that we responded to that.”

Colorado Motor Carriers Association president Greg Fulton, who also spoke at the news conference, said that traffic on the I-70 corridor has increased by 30% in the past 20 years, outpacing lane expansions and other infrastructure upgrades on the corridor.

“What happens when there is an event out there, say a truck jackknifes or something like that, the magnitude of it is substantially greater than it has been in the past,” Fulton said.

Fulton said that the Colorado Motor Carriers Association is supportive of the state’s chain laws and is working with transportation officials to find solutions to help keep the I-70 corridor and mountain roads open and safe in the winter. He said that the trade group has advocated for additional chain-up areas and parking areas where commercial drivers could take breaks during adverse conditions.

Fulton said he sometimes hears people question why commercial vehicles are out on the roads in adverse winter conditions at all. But commercial drivers help supply Western Slope communities with everyday goods, and therefore have to be on the road, he said.

“We are there because we must be there. Many of our drivers would rather not be there. But if we’re not there you may, in 48 hours, run out of fuel for gas stations on the Western Slope, certain food products.”

Hahn said that he understands the “cascading effects” when there is a lane blockage or closure on I-70. He said it is the responsibility of everyone on the corridor — commercial drivers and passenger vehicles — to drive safely and responsibly.

Looking to the future, Hahn noted that the state legislature recently passed a bill that will allow third-party vendors to station themselves along I-70 to help commercial motor vehicles apply chains. While he did not have a timeline for when that program could be operational, he said it could have major benefits for travel along the I-70 corridor.

“We can hold them accountable for not having the chains and not following chain law, but at the end of the day the truck is still stuck,” Hahn said. “So having a good solid predictable chain-assist program, however that shakes out, that can provide that service to trucks and at least get them on their way, is a critical next step.”