New fines mean that truck drivers who venture into Smugglers’ Notch can wind up paying thousands of dollars — but that didn’t deter several from trying anyway.
Authorities ticketed seven commercial drivers who headed into the Notch after July 1 — the date the fines went into effect.
Tractor-trailers and buses have long been prohibited from the Notch, but the new law imposes a stiff financial penalty, said Col. William Elovirta, the enforcement and safety division director at the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
Six drivers were ticketed for “impeding the flow of traffic” by getting stuck in the Notch, a section of Route 108. That offense carries a fine of $2,347. Authorities issued another ticket, for $1,197, to a driver who violated the commercial vehicle ban for the windy, two-lane mountain pass that connects Stowe and Jeffersonville.
Four drivers were convicted, one case was dismissed and two other cases are pending, according to Joanne Charbonneau, the interim clerk at the Vermont Judicial Bureau.
Despite signs warning commercial drivers of the tight turns, several each year still attempt to squeeze through — and get stuck. Often, drivers from out of state follow GPS directions and don’t know of the hazards, then miss or disregard the signs, according to Elovirta.
The lengths of buses and big rigs makes it difficult to safely navigate the narrow, steep road, which is often lined with cars of hikers and leaf-peepers. The pass is generally open from May through October, and can close during inclement weather. This year, authorities closed the Notch for winter on November 19.
Before July 1, commercial drivers who got stuck could only be ticketed for failing to obey a “traffic control device,” which comes with a relatively paltry $162 fine.
“This certainly didn’t come close to addressing the impact to the motoring public and to first responders tied up by that driver/motor carrier’s actions,” Elovirta said.
The new penalties, which include a two-point hit on a driver’s license, are much more significant and hopefully act as a deterrent, Elovirta said.
Once a vehicle is wedged in there, Elovirta said, it can take hours to get out. The road is generally shut down to traffic so the driver can back down. If they’re really stuck, a wrecker is called in to move the vehicle.
Elovirta recalled the time a couple of years ago when a truck from Québec delivering sand to the Stowe Country Club got stuck after driving over a boulder. The driver was forced to dump his load of sand, and a crew used a cutting torch to remove the truck’s rear axle. Then a tow truck brought the trailer down the mountain.
“At that time, we could only issue a $162 ticket, but I’m sure the wrecker bill was in the thousands of dollars when it was all done,” Elovirta said.
Since June 2009, Elovirta has kept an unofficial running tally of commercial vehicles entering Smugglers’ Notch.
Elovirta’s spreadsheet documents the date, the direction of travel, the driver’s home state or “jurisdiction” and additional comments for 42 incidents. A majority of drivers were southbound, from Jeffersonville toward Stowe. Seven were from Québec, four were from Massachusetts and only one was from Vermont.
Eleven others were not known, often because the driver was able to leave the scene before police arrived. The data hasn’t been updated since September 11 of this year, Elovirta said, and doesn’t account for at least three more instances of wayward driving.
As smartphone use became prevalent, Elovirta noted an increase in incidents. Drivers plug in an address and follow the GPS directions, without considering road conditions, he said. It’s often truckers unfamiliar with the state roadways — evidenced by the fact that only one Vermont driver can be found among the 42 incidents.
How to prevent these nuisance tie-ups has been an ongoing struggle, Elovirta said. Roadside signs warning of the prohibition don’t always work, so the hope is that the fines will serve as a strong message. Other solutions discussed have been to install a chicane — a roadway obstacle that creates tight turns — or a “headache bar” that would stop vehicles too tall for the passage. Laser technology that measures the length of a vehicle is available, but expensive.
“It’s just really designed for a passenger car,” Elovirta said of the mountain roadway. “There are some intelligent solutions out there, but it’s one of those things we’ll continue to talk about. What can we do to improve?”
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Has anyone talked to Garmin, ESRI, Google Maps and similar about recoding this route for GPS users? I don’t know exactly who is keeping that data, but I imagine shutting off the source of bad directions would be effective.
It really wasn’t “designed” for cars either, it’s an old horse and buggy path that’s been paved. And possibly posting the signs in French and Spanish might deter some of the steering wheel
holders.
Great road to really save a lot of time. I take my small pick-up and 14 foot trailer over this route for a total of 35 feet of total vehicle and I can barely negotiate some of the curves. Why anyone with a tractor trailer or tour bus would try this route is beyond me. I think there should be more signs stating the severity of the route and posted fine.
Maybe posting a stop sign at both ends of the road would help. In addition to the stop sign could be the sign telling the tractors and the buses they are not going to fit. I think the signage there now is just too small and people don’t notice it. They might see if better if they were forced to stop before going onward.
Interesting article. I think my dad once missed the sign and entered the notch with his truck and RV. He got a severe finger wagging for that. I was just proud that he managed all those boulders without a scratch and totally unassisted. he never missed that sign again, though.
I’d love to see more pictures of stuck trucks, frankly!!
The fine is to small..try $5,000 and up..I stopped 2 tractor trailers at different times a few yrs ago..1 driver called his dispatcher and said he can’t go over, the dispatcher told him to do it, that the road is ok for the trailer..Thank goodness the driver listen to me and my friend..the second one, the driver told me to F-off..he went on his way and got stuck up in the turns..got stuck for hrs.. The sign on the Stowe end is big with lights, Jeffersonville side needs bigger signs..Something needs to be done with maps and GPS, as it doesn’t state that the Notch isn’t for tractor trailers and tour buses..but no one wants to pay for this to be changed..
“Its just really designed for a passenger car, Elovirta said of the mountain roadway.”
I’m sure it was originally designed for a horse; a small horse.
honestly, I think the issue contributing to this was the bad signage installed by VTrans. It originally said something like “not recommended for tractor-trailers” — not “prohibited.” Then when they updated the signs, the said that tractor-trailers were banned and subject to fines, but said nothing about buses, etc. So except for those idiotic big-rig drivers who ignored the signs, I’d say that the other “violators” did nothing intentionally wrong and had no idea there was an issue.
A sign that says this road goes around boulders with hairpin turns that will hang up a vehicle longer than 35 feet would go a long way toward stopping those uniformed. Prohibited doesn’t mean anything to many. Telling drivers WHY it’s prohibited would be much more effective.
For me it’s the quickest way south, saves time, and is a beautiful road. On the map it looks good to the drivers of big rigs too. The reason why they can’t make it should be on the sign in big letters.