Getting stuck in Smugglers Notch could cost $2,000

Each summer in Vermont, a few truck drivers spend a lot more time in Smugglers Notch than they'd planned.

A hapless tractor-trailer wedges itself between the boulders atop Mount Mansfield. Traffic stops, and the state Department of Motor Vehicles adds another tally to the count of commercial drivers who have blown past the warning signs along Vermont 108 between Stowe and Jeffersonville.

A new law expected to take effect this year would penalize tractor-trailer and semi-trailer trucks with a $1,000 fine for using the road — or $2,000 if the incident impedes traffic flow. Fines would double for subsequent violations.

“The signage is there. It’s really pretty obvious, but trucks still try to get through there," said Rep. Patrick Brennan, R-Colchester, who worked on the legislation as chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

"It closes the whole gap for hours," he said, "so it’s a tourism thing. It’s a safety thing."

Some drivers get stuck because they put too much trust in GPS units that direct them through the notch, said Col. Jake Elovirta, director of the DMV enforcement division. Resolution takes as little as 30 minutes for a careful back-out or several hours for extraction.

“It depends on how much they jam themselves in," Elovirta said.

Despite the problem's recurrence, Elovirta said law enforcement officers have been able to ticket drivers only $162 for failure to obey traffic control devices.

State traffic officials hope the higher fines, in combination with new signs and public outreach, will put an end to Vermont's unwelcome summer tradition.

Gov. Peter Shumlin's staff will review the plan when they receive H. 876 from the Legislature, said spokesman Scott Coriell. Barring a governor's veto, the law would take effect July 1.

Smugglers Notch confounds motorists

Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank