Colorado State Patrol says a few careless truckers are to blame for last week’s unprecedented ban on commercial vehicles.
During the March megastorm, troopers wrote 12 tickets for violating the mandatory chain law.
Most violations were on the I-70 mountain corridor, from Silverthorne to Morrison, and U.S. Highway 285 through Conifer and Evergreen.
In a press release state patrol says, “Despite extensive warnings… some professional drivers failed to comply with the Colorado Chain Law.”
It goes on to say these violators got stuck, trapping other motorists for hours until roads could safely reopen.
These warnings were given in three languages: English, Spanish and Russian. Troopers and other first responders say those are the most common languages used by truckers passing through Colorado.
This chain season alone, since September 2023, troopers have written more than 800 tickets statewide.
Tickets range from $50 to $1000 for chain law violators. Drivers can also get a negative report on their USDOT number.