Note: This article is updated with comments from Summit County.
Summit County Sheriff’s Office partnered up with Colorado State Patrol and three other agencies for I-70 chain checks.
Results were a lot like the other weeks, showing nearly all truckers were traveling with chains (97%) and most other drivers are busted for speeding (44%).
March 26 I-70 chain check
- Total vehicles stopped… 242
- Passenger vehicles stopped… 103
- Passenger vehicle speeding tickets… 45
- Other passenger vehicle tickets… 55
- Total CMVs stop… 139
- CMV chain-law tickets… 4
- Other CMV citations… 8
Also out on the road last week were Jefferson County Sheriff, the Parachute Police Department and Vail Police.
Cops in Vail are now the only law enforcement on the mountain corridor with emergency authority to halt commercial vehicles in a snowstorm. It’s granted by a newly adopted emergency ordinance, which comes with fines up to $2650 if a trucker blocks traffic at Vail Pass.
Summit County is “very interested” in a similar law, county manager Dave Rossi tells Krystal 93, but the county attorney warns that counties do not have that authority in Colorado. Home-rule towns like Vail have more autonomy, giving them more leeway on emergency laws.
“It’s not an appetite issue, it’s a statutory authority issue,” Rossi says.
The next scheduled chain check is Thursday, April 3.