Vail Mayor says truckers need even steeper fines for wrecks that block I-70 and cost CO $2M an hour

The Mayor of a popular Colorado mountain town is urging the Governor of Colorado to crack down on commercial truck drivers even more. 

Vail, Colorado mayor Travis Coggin issued a letter to Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Monday, February 10th, calling for the strict enforcement of traction laws and speed limits, along with steeper fines for drivers if they do not comply. This call comes just a month after the same Mayor called for drivers to face $20,000 fines if they fail to chain up appropriately. 

“While we appreciate the recent update to existing chain laws, the State of Colorado’s current penalties are clearly still an inadequate deterrent for those who will ignore speed limits, lane restrictions and chain-up requirements and put others at risk for the sake of saving a few minutes on the road,” the letter states. “In addition, the $1,150 maximum fine for blocking a roadway is exceedingly low, considering the state’s own analysis indicating an economic cost of nearly $2 million for every hour I-70 is closed.”

According to Vail Daily, Vail estimates that the economic impact of Interstate 70 closures due to semi truck wrecks was over $300 million based on 99 full closures of I-70 for a total of 161 hours in 2024. The letter states that the frequent closures  “also impacts our ability to respond to emergencies in the town of Vail.”

The state of Colorado has already passed legislation limiting commercial vehicles to the right lane in Dowd Junction, parts of Vail Pass, Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels, Georgetown Hill, and Floyd Hill. However, CDOT has not yet painted lanes in Dowd Junction or on Vail Pass in order to comply with the law. 

“Violations should be met with significant penalties to ensure compliance,” the town’s letter states. “The current penalties are not changing the behavior of the trucking industry. The penalty for a closure needs to be more commensurate with the financial impact it causes. The Town is prepared to work with the state to enhance enforcement recognizing that the Colorado State Patrol in our region is less than 50% staffed.”

“Our officers responding to incidents on Vail Pass and Dowd Junction report that the most frequent cause of a commercial vehicle incident occurs when trucks passing slower trucks lose traction and cause an incident,” the letter states. “We would like to work with CDOT on the design and operation of the eastbound Vail Pass Chain-up area to both support truckers in chaining up and ensure truckers are chained up when required,” the letter states. “If approved, Senate Bill 25-069 could also provide chain-up support for truckers.”

The town states that it would like “to enhance our partnership with the state to better enforce the chain law, support commercial drivers in chaining up, and to more rapidly respond to incidents to reduce the time of closures.”