When the snow starts to fall this winter and travelers are, once again, largely at the mercy of Mother Nature to regulate the speeds at which they drive and the icy challenges and delays they'll face on Interstate 70, truckers will be contending with an additional worry -- heavier fines if they break the chain up law.
When it comes to accidents involving semi-trucks, they are predominately caused by the fact that truckers don't put on chains when they should, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. During the 2006-2007 ski season between the months of September and April, truck accidents closed I-70 for a total of 15 hours and nine minutes. The total time during that same period in which trucks blocked a single lane of the interstate accounted for 114 hours and 39 minutes.
"When you're spending your free time to head up to the high country and recreate and vacation here, and you can't make it up here, that's a real problem," said State Representative Dan Gibbs, a Democrat based out of Silverthorne. "There have been studies that have reflected that every hour I-70 is shut down equates to $800,000 to $1 million dollars of potentially lost revenue for the region."
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When it comes to accidents involving semi-trucks, they are predominately caused by the fact that truckers don't put on chains when they should, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. During the 2006-2007 ski season between the months of September and April, truck accidents closed I-70 for a total of 15 hours and nine minutes. The total time during that same period in which trucks blocked a single lane of the interstate accounted for 114 hours and 39 minutes.
"When you're spending your free time to head up to the high country and recreate and vacation here, and you can't make it up here, that's a real problem," said State Representative Dan Gibbs, a Democrat based out of Silverthorne. "There have been studies that have reflected that every hour I-70 is shut down equates to $800,000 to $1 million dollars of potentially lost revenue for the region."
more...
