DENVER — For those coming to Colorado for the holiday season — or for high-country adventures — changes to the state's traction laws aim to make things safer for rental car drivers, who may not be as experienced in winter conditions.
This means next time you rent a car in Colorado, you'll be notified of state traction laws before you drive away — a new requirement after Senate Bill 69 was signed into law earlier this year.
“What our goal in this bill and norew law is to make it more obvious for that consumer, somebody who's coming from a different state or hasn't driven in the snow for a long time, keep them aware of Colorado's laws, and then give them the option to get a new car if they need to,” said Democrat State Sen. Dylan Roberts, one of the bill’s primary sponsors.
Under the new law, rental car companies must inform customers through one of three methods:
- Verbal notification
- Clear display on mobile apps for online check-ins
- Visible notice inside the rental vehicle
“We actually heard recently from Enterprise that they're going to hang a tag on the rearview mirror of every one of their rental cars at DIA and other rental areas in Colorado that says whether the car they have that they're sitting in has the right tires for going up into Colorado's mountains, and then give them the opportunity to go back to the rental counter if their car isn't compliant,” said Roberts, who lives in Frisco.
Roberts said the law addresses a recurring problem on Colorado roadways, particularly during winter weather days.
This past Presidents' Day weekend proved to be a nightmare for drivers, with multiple crashes and spinouts leaving drivers stuck for up to 9 hours along the I-70 corridor.
“I've heard from the [Colorado] State Patrol, a lot of the people they're citing for traction violations or who are causing these delays are rental cars, somebody from out of state who flew into DIA,” said Roberts.
But the new law doesn't require car rental companies actually to provide tire chains or alternate traction devices.
Recent updates to Colorado’s traction law require passenger drivers to have tires with a tread depth of at least 3/16ths of an inch, and they must be winter, mud and snow, or all-weather tires.
Drivers whose vehicles don't meet these standards must use tire chains or other approved traction devices.
Denver7 did some digging to find out which responsibilities fall on the rental car driver and whether these new requirements clash with current rental car policies on tire chains.
“You have a duty to comply with Colorado law over your obligations in any contract. So if the contract, for any reason, prohibits you from putting these devices on, first off, read that contract,” said AAA Regional Director of Public Affairs Skyler McKinley. “When you're renting a vehicle, you are obligated to comply with this law, which includes carrying the tire chains or alternate traction devices and equipping them. That's going to supersede any of the fine print in the contract so that the contracts will catch up.”
At that point, you have two options: get the equipment at your own expense or switch to a vehicle that meets state traction laws.
Under the traction law, drivers who don't comply could face a fine of more than $130. If they block the roadway due to improper equipment, they may be fined more than $650.
"I think that, over time, in tandem with this law, it will have a great market effect, which will incentivize the rental companies to equip fleets at Denver International Airport and their Colorado rental locations for driving conditions in Colorado. And that's what we want to achieve," added McKinley.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has determined that for every hour the I-70 corridor is closed, it can cost $2 million.
The hope now is to stop those losses while making roadways as safe as possible.
“I'm grateful for [rental car companies’] partnership in this. I think that this will make a difference in this upcoming winter and for many years to come,” said Roberts.
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