Silverthorne, CO – Are you ready to get fined $132 on I-70 for doing something you’ve been doing for years? That is what may happen between September 1 and the end of May every year on I-70.
You will now be required to have chains, socks, four-wheel drive, and they will check your tire tread. Now, those of us that have been driving I-70 for 40 plus years know that you can safely navigate the interstate with what the government deems “unsafe” tires. However, the nanny state likes to dictate our behavior while passing on costs.
So from The Know, here’s what you need to know:
What does my car need to be compliant?
Sam Tabachnik, The Know, September 20, 2019
The new law mostly impacts drivers of two-wheel-drive vehicles. For nine months of the year, September through May, two-wheel-drive cars must have specialized winter tires or traction devices when driving on the mountainous section of I-70 — no matter what kind of weather is going on.
Under the new law, drivers will need:
All-season tires with a mud/snow designation (often known as “M+S”)
Snow tires
Or:
Drivers may use their standard tires if they carry traction chains or AutoSocks. The traction devices only need to be installed when in adverse weather conditions.
What if I have a four-wheel-drive vehicle?
Tires on all vehicles, including ones with four-wheel-drive, must have minimum tread depths of three-sixteenths of an inch. The old law required just an eighth of an inch.
What happens if I’m caught without the correct tires?
Violators will be given a $100 citation with a $32 surcharge. If a driver winds up closing one or more lanes of traffic, that fine jumps to $500 with a $156 surcharge.
We all know the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Just because there may be a couple of bad actors, the rest of us shouldn’t have to suffer. But that’s exactly what this law does, punishes those of us who can and have safely navigated I-70 with “government” sub-par tires and no 4-wheel drive.
Then there is the Colorado constant – weather changes! Everyone here at the Colorado Citizens Press has been to the mountains since September 1, and the roads have been dry. There was no need for special tires or 4-wheel drive. So why does this law span nine months? Clearly, this is as much of a revenue issue for the government as it is for “safety.”
We went on a larger rant on how chains are going to rip up I-70 even more, back in May. Give it a read!
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We had not been on I-70 out of Denver in several years. Great job with the empty toll lane and non stop traffic jams all the way up the corridor now that everyone is in two lanes. $13 dollars to use a lane one time? You’ve got to be kidding me. Requesting complete removal of the toll lane back to a normal lane. If increased congestion is the goal, the toll lane is accomplishing the task. We tried to go to a few mountain lakes and found camping migrants whom did not speak English instead. The old weekend up the pass thing is not as safe or rewarding as it used to be.
I’ll put chains on when I feel they are necessary. I’ll replace the tires when I can afford to do so. With well over a thousand additional dollars flying out of my pocket every year with increased property taxes, surely more taxation to come, swiftly rising cost of living factors make tires even less affordable. What is this auto socks nonsense and why is the government promoting a private brand label? Unlike durable and recyclable chains and cables, those things look like future landfill material. If new tires are the law I will expect a direct dollar for dollar tax refund for the cost of the tires.
And I want every single traffic spy cam popping up on every intersection gone immediately. I no longer ride with my front plate attached to my vehicle, and keep it between the seats to whip up on the dash in case I get pulled over. I drive with my visors in the down position full time to at least partially protect our privacy from the spy cameras. None of these new items or rules are actually about safety. They’re about someone profiting from government purchases of tech and monitoring equipment. How long before the camera reads your tread depth? Think it can’t happen, think again. Those are highly advanced high tech cameras. They’re already auto compiling your complete movement habit and correlating that data with cellular ping transmissions, as well as facial recognition when adequate images are available. Data for sale.