Colorado lawmakers advance bill allowing chain-assist vendors to set up along highways to ease winter traffic

A Colorado bill aimed at fighting winter traffic jams and preventing crashes on Interstate 70 and other highways by letting private companies set up roadside tire chain stations is advancing in the state legislature.

Senate Bill 69, backed by Sens. Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, and Marc Catlin, a Montrose Republican, passed the House Finance Committee Thursday after clearing the full Senate earlier. It’s headed next to the House Appropriations Committee.

The bill would allow the Colorado Department of Transportation to issue permits to service providers that could sell, install and remove tire chains for drivers of commercial trucks and passenger vehicles.

It also would require car rental companies to notify customers about Colorado’s traction law and the penalties for violation. The idea is to ensure professional help is available to drivers who aren’t able or inclined to install and remove tire chains.

Colorado’s vehicle traction law already requires commercial vehicle drivers to use chains or other traction devices when winter conditions make roads slick. Truckers rolling through the mountains must carry chains from Sept. 1 to May 31. Other drivers must have all-wheel drive or use appropriate winter or all-season tires and have adequate tread depth of at least three-sixteenths of an inch; if they don’t meet the requirements, they have to use chains or alternative traction devices when the traction law is in effect.