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passengerfan, You just learned a secret in trucking. Companies fire on sight for any number of rules if they are broken. So there is a little bit of "Juggling" so to speak to make the incident acceptable to the company. If they could get them chains on there before a company official arrives then that driver might have a chance still. I am going to tell you a story here. The point of the story is when to require chains. Coming out of Knoxville several years ago into a light winter storm going west on I-40, there was a few inches of snow on the grass but none on the road. The higher we got into the plateau it turned to hard packed snow and eventually to a little ice as the humidty levels got wet. I was the lead truck and we come around upgrade to a 40 degree bend that also increased in grade. 5 inches of packed snow turned to a patch of ice halfway thru the turn. The Rig stumbled and went into a tractor skid towards a jackknife while being pulled by gravity towards the median divider. A authoritive yank on the steering wheel broke the skid and happened early enough before a fatal jack knife angle was reached. Number two had the exact same behavior in my rear view mirror.... in the mean time.... Numbers 3 thru 8 all saw the first two of us slide and knew that curve is going to be a problem. Number 3 slid and went off the road trying to stay out of the dreaded jackknife. Number 4 was a flat bed the last I saw of him was his trailer dragging the whole unit backwards into the divider and down into the ground as the driver used the last of his interlocked traction to keep the whole rig straight. When it was over the interstate was blocked at that point. The drivers were NOT happy. No blame anywhere, just a icy patch on a compound curve. This being in tennessee they really dont require chains like the western states do. But if this happened in a western state, I believe the chain law would be placed into effect when the first semi (Me) started to spin out. That means the tires have reached thier limits of traction. From that point on all should have chain. I hold that as long as you can walk on it, you can drive on it as ground pressure is very similar. But... if big trucks are looking for a place to chain up and or wait out the remainder of the storm... dont you be going out there in your little 4x4 or car. Many a time I see doubles turned completely around in storms near chicago. Usually they would be chaining at that point because it is the only way to get traction. Many a time I come across 7 mountains near state college without chain and see many drivers who wind up into the shoulder or barriers because they were in a hurry. When your interlock is activated and you are plowing 2 feet of dry snow in 3rd at 8 mph... that is NOT the time to be concerned about arrival time or speed. All this talk of mountain driving in winter should help you keep in mind that there are alot of drivers and very good trucks out there doing a dangerous job. To me mountain driving holds no fear as I go up or down them the exact same way every time. What I do fear is the man killing cold that reaches close to -90 (Including wind chill) some nights in the far northern states. Eisenhower tunner is a hoot on I-70. But try Tuscacora or Allegheny in a roaring storm on the PA Turnpike sometime. I think the Alley is the one that has 7 miles of 5% eastbound and additional grades westbound combined with super elevation and wind chutes created by the mountains around you. But Mount Eagle is the one that will get ya east of the mississippi.
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