With stretches as wide as four lanes, US 160/Wolf Creek Pass can deceive drivers into thinking there is ample room to navigate it. Adding high speeds to this miscalculation creates dangerous conditions-particularly for commercial vehicle drivers.
Commercial trucks traveling downhill on the pass should go no faster than 25 MPH. This video, captured by a CDOT Wolf Creek Pass maintenance patrolman, shows a semi-truck that picked up too much speed, more than 60 MPH at one point. Rather than keeping the vehicle in a low gear, the driver was "riding the brakes" which resulted in brake failure. When finally coming to a very fortunate stop, the brakes were smoking. The driver should have used one of two escape ramps available for stopping runaway trucks. This situation could have ended up much worse - A CRASH and the potential loss of the irreplaceable life of the driver or the lives of those with whom he shares the road.
24 май 2017
