Wyoming's Chain Law Carries a $750 Penalty if You Close the Road
Date Published
Most chain laws attach a flat fine. Wyoming attaches two, and the difference between them is about consequences rather than conduct.
The restriction
Under Wyo. Stat. 31-5-956 subsection (e), when the superintendent or an authorised representative determines that travel is sufficiently hazardous due to snow, ice or other conditions, travel on a highway may be restricted to vehicles using adequate snow tires or tire chains, to all-wheel drive vehicles, or to necessary emergency vehicles including snow plows.
In extremely hazardous conditions the restriction can be tightened further, down to emergency vehicles, vehicles using tire chains, and all-wheel drive vehicles on adequate mud and snow or all-weather tires with sufficient tread.
The restriction takes effect when signs giving notice are erected on that portion of highway, and the statute expressly includes temporary and electronic signs. Until the signs are up, nothing binds.
What a commercial vehicle must do
The same subsection is specific about commercial vehicles. The operator of a commercial vehicle must affix tire chains to at least two of the drive wheels of the vehicle at opposite ends of the same drive axle when the vehicle is required to use tire chains.
Two chains, and they must be on opposite ends of the same axle rather than distributed across two.
The two penalties
Subsection (j) sets the consequence. Operating in violation of a restriction imposed under subsection (e) is a misdemeanour carrying a penalty of not more than $250.
Where the result of the violation is an incident that causes the closure of all lanes in one or both directions of the highway, the penalty rises to not more than $750.
The escalation is unusual in chain law drafting. It prices the externality rather than the act: the same decision to run without chains is treated more seriously when it strands everyone else.
What counts as a chain
Subsection (k) defines tire chains as metal chains consisting of two circular metal loops, one on each side of the tire, connected by not less than nine evenly spaced chains across the tire tread, and any other traction device differing in construction, material or design but capable of providing traction equal to or exceeding that of metal chains under similar conditions.
A sourcing note
Wyoming publishes Title 31 as a compiled PDF, so the text above was read from the FindLaw reproduction, which states it is current as of 1 January 2024 and warns it may not be the most recent version. Verify against the official text before relying on it.