The article “Utah ski opener prompts a traffic ordeal” in Tuesday’s Salt Lake Tribune accurately described what happens precisely because UDOT’s traction laws are not enforced.
It appears that the Unified Police Department would rather deal with the accidents and slide-offs that occurred Friday than keep improperly equipped vehicles out of the canyons in the first place.
If the traction laws were enforced every time there was a storm, then the backups at the mouths of the canyons would decrease because those drivers whose vehicles lack proper tires would find other means of transportation. In addition, the National Weather Service’s Cottonwood Canyons forecast provides accurate information that UDOT should use to activate its traction laws.
David Zangrilli, Sandy