Category Archives: Road Safety

Automotives at Altitude, Health, Mental Health, Road Safety

Navigating the Winter Wonderland: A Survival Guide for Driving the I-70 Corridor

Leave a comment

Ah, winter in the Rockies – a magical time of snow-capped peaks, cozy ski lodges, and, of course, treacherous driving conditions on Interstate 70. If you’re a seasoned local, you know the drill: every time you plan a journey along this notorious stretch of road, you find yourself pondering the eternal question, “When should I brave the chaos of I-70?”

If you value your sanity (and your fender), it’s best to avoid I-70 during rush hour, weekends, and holidays. Think of it as trying to navigate through a minefield of impatient tourists and stressed-out locals – a recipe for disaster. And let’s not forget about those big snowstorms. While they may turn the landscape into a picturesque winter wonderland, they also transform I-70 into a slippery, white-knuckled nightmare. So, unless you have a burning desire to spend the night in your car, it’s probably best to wait until the plows have done their job.

You might be wondering if there’s a better time to make the trek to and from the Front Range, the plains east of the central Rockies (like Denver and the airport!). Well, the short answer is: not really. But you can prepare a survival kit to help you weather the storm – both literally and figuratively.

First on the list of essentials: water, snacks, a flashlight with charged batteries, and blankets that will keep you and your passengers warm in case you are stalled or stuck for 24 hours before you reach any kind of indoor accommodations, and a snow and ice scraper for your windows and windshield. Even in the summer, storms bring snow at high elevations, and most gas stations around the Rocky Mountains will sell them.

Do not rely on being able to keep your vehicle running over a long period of time; this is limited by gas (unless your vehicle is a Tesla, in which case it is limited by your electric charge), and falling snow clogging the exhaust pipe of a typical combustion engine can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. You never know when you might find yourself stranded in a snowbank, praying for divine intervention – or at least a passing snowplow. And speaking of emergencies, don’t forget the toilet paper for times of desperation. Trust me, when nature calls and there’s nowhere to hide, you’ll thank me for this invaluable piece of advice. Next up, make sure you have a full tank of gas and extra windshield wiper fluid. Oh, and don’t forget the shovel and snow brush. 

Let’s also talk about vehicle capabilities. If you’re lucky enough to own a 4WD or AWD vehicle, count your blessings and use them wisely. And if not, invest in a set of chains and, more importantly, learn how to put them on before you find yourself in a slippery situation. And while we’re on the subject, snow tires are worth their weight in gold when it comes to navigating storms on I-70. If you are getting a rental car, make sure it has 4WD or AWD capabilities!

On to some recommendations for staying safe on the road. Take it slow. Don’t tailgate. Leave more room than you think behind the person in front of you, because you never know when they might hit the brakes – or the black ice. When traveling downhill, downshift instead of relying on your brakes. And last but not least, don’t use cruise control in wet or snowy conditions.

Here are some pro tips from full-time residents of Summit County, Colorado, where there are several ski resorts that see millions of visitors every year:

  1. The best days to ski are often just after a blizzard passes, but the WORST times to commute are during or just after a blizzard passes. If you see a blizzard coming and want to make the most of your ski trip, push your commute up a day or two and plan to spend the blizzard AT your accommodations so getting to the fresh snow requires little or no driving. If paying more for an extra day or two of lodging isn’t in the budget, then neither is getting into an accident or having to be towed out of a ditch in a blizzard. The chances of you having to pull over or pay for lodging on the way to your destination are too high to make it worth the commute in a blizzard.
  2. Weekends are unsurprisingly packed on the highways through the mountain corridors in Colorado. Leaving early in the morning or late at night are best for avoiding traffic, but keep in mind there may be more wildlife on the highways when it’s darker out, especially in the warmer months. Weekdays are almost always better for avoiding traffic both on the highway and on the trails.
  3. Colorado Department of Transportation Safety Patrol Program does provide some courtesies to motorists that also serve to prevent and relieve traffic congestion in emergencies, including changing your flat tire, providing fuel, jump starting vehicles, clearing debris and more! Their website is one of the most comprehensive resources for your highway travel plans.
  4. In the unfortunate event you are caught driving in a storm, snow or otherwise, it is so easy to panic and start worrying you will never see the end of it. But just like any other weather pattern, it doesn’t always maintain the same intensity and will eventually pass. Delays may only be a matter of minutes or hours. So use a reliable app or website to keep tabs on how long it might be before it is safe to proceed. If you insist on driving through a storm, keep your head and tail lights on. But a good rule of thumb is if you cannot see the road markers, you probably should pull over before you end up in a ditch.
  5. When you cannot see the road markers, it will be tricky to determine where a safe space to pull off the road is. Observe where other motorists have safely pulled off the road. Large commercial vehicles are more heavily regulated than private vehicles, and they are expected to be more cautious, and large pullouts are provided to accommodate them along the Colorado highway. Look for where those trucks are pulled over while keeping a safe distance.
  6. Here’s one final pro tip you may never have considered: footwear. You may have gotten into your cozy car wearing slippers or UGGs. But imagine having to get out and change a tire or grab blankets from the trunk in the pouring rain or a foot of snow in those. If the weather’s looking unstable, have a pair of shoes or boots you feel comfortable being outside in. (And don’t put them in the trunk.)

Useful links:

Weather, road conditions & closures, cameras: https://www.cotrip.org/home

@i70things on Instagram

https://www.codot.gov/programs/dmo/real-time-operations/traffic-incident-management/safetypatrol

Claire Bice is a physician assistant student who attends Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Utah with plans to go into emergency medicine and volunteer for search and rescue. Before PA school, she grew up in Visalia, California and then lived in Colorado her entire adult life. She attended University of Colorado at Boulder, worked at a dermatology office in Denver, then ski patrolled locally here at Copper Mountain. Her personal interests include snowboarding, mountain biking, live music, and taking her Australian shepherd on adventures!

Automotives at Altitude, High Altitude, Road Safety

i-70: Surviving Colorado’s Mountain Corridor

Leave a comment

Between Utah and Maryland runs over 2,000 miles of Interstate 70. Every year, caravans of cars commute via I-70 across the Rocky Mountain Continental Divide, right in the middle of Colorado, where road, weather and traffic conditions make for some of the most dangerous driving in the country. Year after year, fatalities are in the hundreds. Storms in every season are liable to obscure vision and make surfaces slick on steep grades and tight curves reaching well over 9,000′, and at speeds over 70 mph. Summit County, Colorado, surrounded by mountain passes up to 11,000′ and above, is the highway traveler’s gauntlet of possible peril. As another year comes to a close and Winter peak season gets into full swing, preparing to get up to this elevation is just as important as preparing for the altitude while you are here.

Born and raised at Colorado’s highest elevations, Chris Erickson is well into his fourth year working for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), up at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel, as an Operator Dispatcher: he monitors traffic flow and conditions, deploying staff, services and heavy machinery when necessary. They operate the Colorado traffic management center from his roost right at the Continental Divide, which covers I-70’s mountain corridor. Over 200 miles of winding highway from Dotsero to Golden. He’s seen his share of disasters, so it occurred to me that he may have some valuable observations and advice for the rest of us.

The most intimidating aspect of his role is pretty much the same now as it was when he first started: Winter storms. When the snow gets heavy, they get out the big guns, snow plows deployed from every affected region, operating over stretches of 10 to 20 miles. There is a lot more to this than the drivers think, and I’ve seen cars trying to squeeze around side-by-side plows on icy roads, not aware that they are in formation to control traffic while effectively clearing snow and debris.

What is one thing you wish people would stop doing, knowing what you know now?

Obey the laws, observe speed limits. I wish semi drivers would stop catching on fire all the time. Their brakes catch on fire when they haul ass going down the hill [from the tunnel]. 

How could we forget about the variety of vehicles on the highway? You will often find yourself right next to literal tons of machinery flying down steep grades. Trucks jackknifing is not an uncommon sight, especially in the Winter, and there are enough runaway truck ramps to suggest these monsters losing their brakes is not uncommon, either.

What is one thing you wish drivers would start doing?

I wish people would educate themselves more on driving conditions in the mountains before they came up here. I wish people would educate themselves more on the difficulties of travel on this mountain corridor. There are just so many things: cliffs, rocks that fall all the time … we’re trying, but we only have so many plow drivers and we can’t be plowing every inch of the road every minute. For example, Silverthorne Hill, if that starts to get backed up, the plows can’t get through when they turn around and head back uphill. It’s difficult to manage this corridor with all the obstacles at elevation. People need to be more patient. 

When it comes to road and weather conditions, what do you consider to be the worst or most dangerous?

Black ice.

Stuck in Winter traffic at the Continental Divide

If you didn’t know, now you know. It’s in the local news year after year, but the very thing about black ice is its lack of visibility. Blending right into the black of the asphalt, this ice that has been sitting on the highway without warm conditions to allow it to melt is the cause of many accidents.

Animals on the road: moose, elk, deer … 

The sheer size of these animals rivals the weight of the largest SUVs you’ll see on the highway. Trying to predict the animal’s movement is useless, so it’s best to be prepared to come to a full stop when necessary. Road signs where animal activity are often present are up and down this corridor, and variable message signs (VMS) will always report the immediate presence of reported sightings.

Incidentally, writing the messages you see on these VMS is one of Erickson’s responsibilities. If you’ve paid any attention to each marquis in the mountain corridor (which you should be), you’ve read his work. He often jokes that he is the most widely read author in the state.

“Moose, marmots and motor homes: Spring Migration is on!” is the one he is most proud of, he says. I must admit, it’s pretty clever. When you put it that way, humans are arguably the most migratory animal on the planet.

Fortunately, drivers aren’t left completely without aid on this dangerous trek. CDOT provides a Courtesy Patrol that many are not aware of. This service will dispatch to the location of vehicles that need assistance moving out of the way of oncoming traffic to a safe space to troubleshoot all kinds of common car troubles from flat tires to running out of fuel. They won’t get you to your final destination, but they will give you up to a gallon of gas to move out of danger.

They’ll help you change a tire. They’ll give you a jump. They’d probably even let you use a phone or let you charge your own.

I ask Erickson if there’s anything else he’d like to share with drivers through the mountain corridor:

Buckle up. The worst wrecks often happen on clear, dry days with dry roads.

If you plan to be out there in the middle of the highway through the mountains, be patient, be kind, be courteous. There are long stretches of highway where cell service is unreliable. Being stuck roadside in the mountains requires more than the standard emergency kit. Temperatures are often below freezing in the winter, so bring gloves, hand warmers, blankets, washer fluid (don’t add water) for your car, water (don’t add washer fluid) for yourself, and warm, waterproof boots you can push a car in (worst case scenario). For more insight into how cars operate differently at altitude, check out our previous article on The Physiology of an Automobile.

Thanks for lookin’ out, Chris!

robert-ebert-santos

Roberto Santos is from the remote island of Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. He has since lived in Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, and has made Colorado his current home, where he is a web developer, musician, avid outdoorsman and prolific reader. When he is not developing applications and graphics, you can find him performing with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, snowboarding Vail or Keystone, soaking in hot springs, or reading non-fiction at a brewery.


Automotives at Altitude, High Altitude, Road Safety, Technology

Physiology of an Automobile: Cars Need Oxygen, Too!

Leave a comment

There are seven establishments up here in Summit County, Colorado that offer auto maintenance. That means you will be on a waitlist weeks out to schedule any work you need done during the peak seasons. I finally got an appointment at High Country Auto in Frisco after my SUV started shaking when I drove over 40 mph. My undercarriage was caked in enough frozen mud and dirt that it was causing the car to rock. According to Carrie, who started the business with her husband Steve in 1998, this is a relatively common scenario in the high country. Something else she sees a lot up here is people from sea level putting water in with their washer fluid, which easily freezes on colder days. “The only way to unthaw it is to leave it in the garage overnight,” she says.

This prompted more conversation about how cars respond to the extremity of the altitude, incline and lack of oxygen up here.

“A lot of people up here try to run 91 Octane, the high-octane gas. But we don’t have enough oxygen up here to burn it. So they gum up their fuel injectors, they gum up their fuel system because they’re running too high of octane.

“The other thing people think that they can do is they think that they can chip their car to make it go faster … they try to bypass parameters on the computer to make it go faster. But it doesn’t work up here, because you need to have more oxygen.

“The other problem, too, is that they load their cars down with ten million people and all their [stuff], and then they try to go up the hills. And their car can only go so fast, because it can only take in so much oxygen, it can only process so much, plus they’re already fully weighted down. And then they hit altitude and their cars are [struggling].” (Insert Carrie’s imitation of a car struggling.)

“It’s like a big … 500 lb. guy going up four stories, and he gets up the first floor and he has a heart attack. Well, why? It’s because he’s exerting himself at altitude. It’s the same thing with cars. If a car has a little bit of a problem up here, and then you load it down with people and you try to get it to go up to 12,000, it overworks the car. And a lot of people don’t realize that cars have to work harder up here, just like people do.”

So what do you have to do to “prepare” your car for a trip up to altitude?

“Don’t overload it. And don’t push your car. Don’t try to go faster. When you’re going up a hill, be nice to your car. It’s like when you’re going down a hill, try to go into 3rd gear to let your transmission slow you down, take your foot off the brakes.

“The problem up here is people try to haul their trailers with Subarus. I’ve seen fifth-wheels being hauled with little, tiny cars. It doesn’t work up here … it can’t get enough oxygen for the car to process it. The biggest mistake people make up here is they overload everything.“

Another little thing you can do to take extra care of your car up here, she mentions, is let it warm up for two to five minutes when you first start it up in the morning. As the water freezes, all the fluids tend to gel, and it’s in your best interest to get these fluids warm again.

“When it’s 20-below, it takes a lot for the car to warm up. Just like us getting out of bed,” she laughs.

“This is not the place to push your car. If your car is gonna break down, it’s gonna break down up here.”

And if you’re an ASE-certified Master Technician, Carrie’s been looking to hire more mechanics for much more than they’re paid in the city. There used to be over 20 repair facilities in Summit County, but since it’s dwindled down to under 10, there is plenty of work for qualified mechanics up here.

And if you need your own blood oxygen, blood pressure, or undercarriage checked out, Ebert Family Clinic offers the former two for free!

robert-ebert-santos

Roberto Santos is from the remote island of Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. He has since lived in Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, and has made Colorado his current home, where he is a web developer, musician, avid outdoorsman and prolific reader. When he is not developing applications and graphics, you can find him performing with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra, snowboarding Vail or Keystone, soaking in hot springs, or reading non-fiction at a brewery.