After one of the first substantial storms of the year dropped snow and ice in Big Cottonwood Canyon last month, Brittany Kidd and a co-worker, done with work for the moment, started down the canyon.
Kidd, a canyon patroller with the Utah Department of Transportation, was following in her truck behind a snowplow about 9 miles up the canyon when a car going to opposite direction swerved to make room for the plow.
Then, that car lost control and slid into Kidd’s lane.
“I didn’t have any time to get out of the way,” she said. “Really, there’s no room to get out of the way, because the canyon’s so narrow. I slammed on my brakes trying to stop the impact, but there was no stopping it.”
The two vehicles collided, leaving Kidd with a concussion and the car 250 feet down the hillside. The people inside the car got out before it slid away.
Two weeks after the Nov. 17 crash, Kidd returned to the crash site to urge drivers to take precautions when driving this winter, and to obey snow tire and chain requirements. If the other driver was using either type of winter equipment that day, Kidd said, the wreck wouldn’t have happened.
“They would have not fishtailed. They would have been able to keep control of their vehicle,” she said.
From Oct. 1 to April 30, all vehicles traveling through Big and Little Cottonwood canyons must have either snow tires on the vehicle or carry tire chains in their vehicle, even when yellow lights at the mouth of the canyons aren’t flashing.
Those yellow lights mean motorists who do not have four-wheel-drive must have tire chains installed. Depending on how severe the weather is, UDOT may further restrict traffic to vehicles with studded snow tires, or other requirements, according to the Unified Police Department website.
The car that hit Kidd’s truck had neither, despite the chain restriction being in effect at the time. The driver was cited for it, UPD Det. Ken Hansen said.
Officials decide to restrict certain vehicles from traveling in the canyons when roads become too dangerous for an average car to drive, said Jake Brown, a roadway operations manager for UDOT.
Weather conditions in the canyon can change dramatically over the course of a day, Brown said, which is why the law mandates tires or chains throughout the winter and into spring.
Though some choose to ignore the requirement, Kidd said motorists should follow that law like they do other traffic rules.
“When [police] cite people for it, it’s just like running through a red light,” she said. “If you’re not willing to run through a red light, why would you come up the canyons without being properly prepared?”
This year, Unified Police officers are planning to more aggressively enforce vehicle regulations in the canyon after heavy snow last year stretched their resources, Hansen said.
Sometimes officers would be dealing with four or five vehicles that had slid off the road at a time, which caused traffic to back up in the canyon and used up much of their limited manpower, he said.
Brown said he’s seen the gamut of what happens when vehicles aren’t prepared for snow and ice in the canyon.
“One of the things I see a lot is something you’d see off a cartoon, where a car is sitting in the lane, spinning tires and not moving, and 25 people behind them,” he said. “I’ve seen people lose control and jet clear up into the trees.”
In addition to chains and proper tires, Brown said motorists should check their windshield wipers and assemble a safety kit with a shovel, blanket and flashlight — and dress appropriately for the weather.
“A lot of people are like, ‘I don’t need a coat,’ ” he said. “And then they get driving, and they get stuck outside, and they don’t have a coat, gloves. Make sure you have that kind of stuff in your vehicle ready to go.”
Kidd said she’s still feeling some of the effects from the wreck, like getting dizzy from time to time, but aside from that she’s doing fine.
She took off work for about a week after, and admitted when she drove by the crash site a few days ago, she was a little spooked.
“But honestly, with how much I’ve seen it storm up here, this wasn’t even the worst storm we’ve ever been in,” she said. “I’m confident that it’ll be OK. I’m not too scared.”
To get information on when traffic in the canyon is restricted and sign up for social media alerts, visit canyonalerts.org.
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