Out-of-state visitors to Colorado like Monica Hurley can’t wait for a taste of winter in the high country this weekend.
Hurley is from Houston and said when driving in Colorado, she always focuses on safety first. That starts with picking out a winter-ready rental car.
“All-wheel drive, first and foremost,” Hurley said.
That safety awareness is something the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Colorado State Patrol (CSP) are hoping to remind drivers of this winter season.
“As you know, I-70 is a plethora of traffic issues. It's spinouts. And it's not just semi-truck drivers, it's also passenger vehicles,” said CSP Trooper Sherri Mendez.
Recent updates to Colorado’s Traction Law aim to minimize those risks for passenger vehicles.
Tire treads must be 3/16ths of an inch or deeper, no matter what kind of vehicle you have. Tires must be ready for winter, mud and snow, or all-weather tires. If your tires don’t meet the new requirements, you’ll need to chain up.
If you’re not in compliance and you crash, you could see fines upwards of $650.
“I get it. Tires are expensive, but at the end of the day, a crash is more expensive than buying new tires,” Mendez said.
Speaking of crashes — CDOT officials say it’s important to be prepared in case you get stuck in that infamous I-70 gridlock.
“If you are in that situation, you're going to be really thankful that you remember to bring a blanket, extra food, water, a phone charger, an ice scraper,” said Andrew Hogle, CDOT Winter Wise spokesperson. “We have a whole list of suggestions, basically like a Boy Scout. Be prepared to spend some time in the mountains. Nobody ever thinks it's going to happen to them, but every year it does to someone.”
To avoid getting stuck in the first place, CDOT has created an I-70 landing page — a one-stop shop with access to CO Trip Planner and live traffic cameras to help you navigate the corridor in real-time.
“We're working through our partners in the tourism sector, as well as the counties up and down the corridor to really get this message out, because the goal is that if we make the information readily available and easy to access, we're hoping that we see some real, real changes on the corridor in terms of preparedness,” said CDOT Mountain Corridor spokesperson Austyn Dineen.
The roads may be getting slick this weekend, but Hurley said she’s ready for the road ahead.
“I just wish and hope for lots of snow, so these mountains would be even more beautiful than they are today,” she said.
