The Mountain Rules Campaign

The Colorado Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Motor Carriers Association, in-cab driver alert providers, PrePass Safety Alliance and Drivewyze have a shared aim to help enhance safety for truckers traveling through the state’s mountainous areas.

Through this shared aim and resulting coordinated approach, The Mountain Rules was born. This program is a comprehensive, strategic and safety-focused effort to inform and educate in-state and inter-state trucking companies and drivers on the challenges of driving in Colorado’s mountains. It includes information on preventing and avoiding hazards, resources to consider, and a consistent reminder to drive slowly and steadily to be safe for the long haul.

In addition to an educational effort, The Mountain Rules consists of infrastructure and informational improvements, including:

• Signing eastbound Interstate 70 and all eastbound chain stations, east of the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnels, with information on the brake check locations for truckers.
• Restriping the wide eastbound exit ramp at the Genesee Park Interchange into a more-defined short-term truck parking area where overheated brakes can cool down and equipment checks can take place prior to the final descent into the Golden area.
• A new subscription-based, in-cab alert system, warning truck drivers about specific areas where brake failures could occur, and the location of brake check and runaway truck ramps.
• Information gathering on the feasibility of a new ramp and other measures to mitigate runaway trucks, such as geometric and signage improvements to the existing Mount Vernon Canyon Truck Runaway Ramp.