Driving You Crazy: Semi trucks should be banned from the C-470 express lanes

Jim from Jefferson County writes, “What’s driving you crazy? Semi trucks in the express lane on 470. They should be banned or tolled so much their company’s eyes water looking at the toll statement. I paid about $5 to go 40 mph with normal, non-tolled traffic flying by. Use the cameras that gets people leaving the express lane to toll these semi truckers into oblivion. End rant. Thank you for your time.”

I’ve had that exact same experience Jim, and in my case, the semi was blowing all the small rocks from the shoulder onto my car so I backed way off and got out at the first point I could. I know that buses, most often RTD and Bustang buses use the metro area express lanes. I’ve also seen a variety of semi trucks use the lane and their speeds have varied from around the limit to well over.

I talked to Tim Hoover from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) who knows just about everything having to do with the express lanes and he told me, no, there is no restriction on what types of vehicles can use any of the front range express lanes as long as the driver pays the toll. Truckers do pay more as they have a $25 surcharge on top of the toll.

“The $25 surcharge discourages many trucks from using the Express Lane,” Hoover said. “We put the surcharge on them because having trucks in the Express Lanes can slow down the lanes owing to the slower acceleration of trucks and it creates significant leftside visibility problems.”

Tim told me CDOT has received complaints from the trucking industry over the years about the surcharge. He said some of them use the lane and then complain later that the driver didn't see the sign saying they would have to pay an extra $25.

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There is one exception to this any vehicle in the express lanes allowance. Trucks and vehicles towing trailers are not allowed in the Interstate 70 Mountain Express Lanes due to how narrow those lanes are. The restriction is no vehicle with more than two axles or exceeding 25 feet in length are allowed to use those lanes at any time.

If you thought about passing a slow moving truck by jumping out of the lane and back in outside of a designated exit and entrance area you would be subject to the same penalties as any other driver who crosses the double white lines, a $75 fine.

“You should handle this the same as if you have a slower moving car in front of you: be patient,” Hoover said. “If you can report the vehicle to law enforcement with a hands-free communications method, you're within your rights. But if they are driving the minimum limit (or more likely the actual limit), there's really nothing you can do but be patient. Our data repeatedly tells us that people driving slowly in the Express Lanes is not the problem. It's people driving far too fast. Same as in the regular lanes.”

If a semi driver weaves in or out of the express lane the driver not only gets the $75 weaving fine but another $25 truck surcharge, plus the toll. “Seems like a dumb thing to do, and yet we've still seen it happen,” Hoover said.

He doesn’t know of any discussions to fully restrict trucks from entering the metro area Express Lanes so unfortunately, this is a risk we take when using them.

Denver7 Traffic Expert Jayson Luber says he has been covering Denver-metro traffic since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We believe the actual number is over 25 years.) He's obsessed with letting viewers know what's happening on their drive and the best way to avoid the problems that spring up. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or listen to his award winning Driving You Crazy podcast on any podcast app including iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.