Snow tires, chains or AWD for I-70 motorists could be required all winter long
The Colorado Sun
Vail Daily File
Motorists are breaking the law if they try to traverse snow-covered mountain roads in Colorado in two-wheel drive vehicles without specialized tires, chains or other grip-control devices.
But now a bill that’s nearing passage in the state legislature would make Colorado’s traction statute a snow-or-shine, all-winter-long policy on Interstate 70, mandating that from September through May drivers traveling between Morrison and Dotsero prepare their vehicles for whatever Mother Nature has in store.
And there’s more: The measure also instructs the Colorado Department of Transportation to explore how to best educate the public about the would-be law and enforce it. Checkpoints are one possible tool to ensure the policy is being followed.
“Sometimes one side of (the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels) is spring and the other side of Eisenhower is a white out,” said state Sen. Kerry Dononvan, a Vail Democrat. “You can’t react in that amount of time — instantaneously putting on snow tires. Winter can come at any moment.”
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