Lighthawk said:
This information comes from CalTrans, and I'm sure CHP would be happy to enforce it.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
Like Ski, I haven't seen it elevated to prohibited until recently. It's always been stated as
"not recommended"....
...But my question stands: What the heck do you do when the powers that be decide your rig is prohibited??
I've never seen "
prohibited" -- for reasons of
wind -- either.
What to do? For me, it depends on whether I'm trying to deal with the
restriction or deal with the
physical hazard.
I don't have much experience with severe restrictions for wind or the actual hazard of extreme winds, so I'll use the case of snow-based restrictions. (however, once I drove 395 from Conway Summit to Mono Lake in my truck-camper under a "High Wind Warning", and it was no big deal...that time)
How the restriction compares to the actual hazard depends on where the situation occurs, so my response to the restriction might vary depending on where it occurs.
For example, on I-5 in northern CA between Redding and Yreka, they tend to require chains -- sometimes even close the Interstate -- when snow is still relatively moderate, not that bad. The traffic is so heavy and so many of the drivers don't know snow-driving that the authorities are super-cautious. In other words, the restriction is out of proportion to the real hazard faced by any one car (except for all the other drivers). That said, I still wouldn't try to bust through CHP barricades on I-5 just because I can
...but I might try to find an alternate route around the restriction, even if the alternate was
objectively worse -- but legal.
On Oregon highways (aside from I-5 over Siskiyou Summit) the standard restriction when the snow on the road is moderately bad is "Traction tires or devices REQUIRED". But "traction tires" can be as mild as mud-and-snow tires, and these days most cars run M&S tires, in the winter anyway, so it's not much of a restriction.
When snow is
really bad on Oregon highways they'll say "CHAINS REQUIRED..." or maybe "4-WHEEL DRIVE WITH CHAINS". At that point the driving conditions are
actually bad -- not over-cautious at all, and at that point I probably wouldn't drive. I carry a full set of chains for my truck (and for my car), so I CAN install them if necessary...but "necessary" would have to be to save my life...or to get the serum through to the remote village stricken by plague.
So, how I deal with driving restrictions depend on how the restriction compares to the actual hazard -- in my judgement -- and whether or not there's a more-or-less legal alternative to the restriction.
