Quote:
Originally Posted by lowrange
That was pretty sneaky of you, putting the color in white so only I can see it. You know, why help out an ungrateful, whiny sob? I wouldn't. Surely you have something better to do.
Anyway, thanks for the new link, I think. It appears only Washington and BC have carry laws.
I don't know what this means though (you probably shouldn't bother, vavega)
"CA- Required to be equipped with tire traction devices when entering a signed, restricted area."
Is that just for temporary closures? Anyone know how long a normal chain requirement lasts? A few hours? A few days? A week? More? TIA (not you, vavega, 'cause you really ought to be doing something else)
Carl...WA, OR, CA, ID, UT, NM, CO, and WY "ALL" have "Carry" laws. The carry law is just that...a law that say's you better be carrying tire chains on certain roads in certain states. Anymore..they all want to see them hanging, or they will make you pull them out of storage and show the LEO what you have. Tankers get a little leeway, because 99% of the time, we will stop and wait for the road to clear. But you still have to carry.
Miller provides a carry case that holds enough cable chain to meet the "Carry" standard. Miller does not want us chaining. Period. If the road is bad enough to require chians, it's bad enough to not be safe to travel.
When the "Chain Law" is in effect in any of those states, you need to have the appropriate number of tire chains, hung on your drive tires, your trailer tires...and in some cases a steer tire. I-70 in Colorado is a "Chain" roadway. All of wyoming and Montana is "Chain" road. WA & OR have the various highways that chains are required on "posted" with signs on the roadside.. CA requires "Carry" on I-80 across Donner, I-5 across Shasta, US97 out of OR, US 50 across Tahoe and US395 ( I think it's 395 anyway) across Mammoth.
For the most part...CA closes the road if "They" determine trucks need to have chains on...simpler for them to just close the road than it is to clear the road of accidents and stuck trucks and 4-wheelers.
If your going to carry steel chains instead of cable chain, you need to equip your truck to meet the harshest state requirement...which is a lot of chain. WA requires that when the chain law is in effect a truck will have all 4 wheels on one drive axle chained, plus the outside tires of the other drive axle chained, plus one axle of the trailer chained. They also require that you carry extra chains or repair equipment for chains. They will ticket if you don't install chains properly and throw a chain while climbing.
CA's DOT is CALTRANS. That is whom you look up to search for CA chain requirements.
Nevada is NDOT.
Oregon is ODOT
Idaho is IDOT
and on down the list...for each individual state.
Or you can just search "Montana Department of Transportation" or the state you want to learn about.
The Rand McNally Carrier Atlas has a pretty decent summary of the various chain regulations for each state.
I will tell you right now...You don't want to travel US 50 across Central Nevada in the winter season. It is bad beyond belief in a couple spots.