Travelers: Take heed of new traction laws

It’s that time of year again, so we need to address snow storms and driving in them. This year there has been some confusion with the new traction laws that travelers will be facing. So I’m here to help answer some of those questions.

Most of the focus for the traction law has been about I-70 in the mountains, but this can pertain to any of Colorado’s roadways that the state is responsible to maintain.

Let’s start from the beginning. Commercial vehicles are required to have chains on their vehicles from Sept. 1-May 31 on I-70 between milepost 133 (Dotsero) and milepost 259 (Morrison), but this part does not pertain to passenger vehicles.

Now let’s look at passenger vehicles. As a driver of a passenger vehicle, you will need to be aware when the traction law is being implemented. The state will usually put this information on variable message signs along the roadways or on Colorado Department of Transportation’s website.

When this happens, you need to be concerned with Code 15 and 16, which pertain to all passenger vehicles. The traction law will usually be implemented when you see snow starting to accumulate on the roadway.

Code 15 is the first level which basically says passenger vehicles need to have at least one-eighth inch of tread on all tires. You will also have to have either snow tires, tires with the mud/snow designation, four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

When Code 16 is implemented, this is a last ditch attempt to keep the roadway open. So now there will be a larger amount of snow on the roadway. All vehicles will need to have chains or an alternative traction device, such as Autosocks. It doesn’t matter if you have four-wheel drive; you need to have chains on your tires.

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