When driving across the Cascade Mountains in Washington State during the winter, it is important to pay attention to the traction advisories that are used by the Washington State Department of Transportation to communicate the safety level of the roadway. These advisories detail not only how bad the roads are, but what types of vehicles are allowed to make the trip. They are used to make sure that you and the rest of the driving public have as much information as possible about the mountain passes before you head out on a trip.
It is important to understand the mountain pass traffic advisories used in the state of Washington, here are the three different levels of advisories explained.
Traction Tires Advised
The first level of warning is Traction Tires Advised and this lets the public know that it would be best to use approved traction tires when traveling through the mountains. This level also prohibits oversize vehicles from using the mountain pass highways.
Traction Tires Required
Traction Tires Required is a level of advisory that both requires all passenger vehicles traversing the mountains to have approved winter tires on them and it also requires all vehicles over 10,000 gross pounds to have chains on.
Chains Required
Chains Required means that the weather is severe enough that no vehicles, except for four wheel drive vehicles, can cross the mountains unless they have chains on at the time.
By understanding what the specific traffic advisories mean, a driver desiring to cross the Cascade Mountains during the winter in Washington State will have a better chance of knowing what to expect and knowing if in fact they should make the trip at all.
You can view Washington Traffic Cameras so you can see what road conditions are like in the mountains and elsewhere before you head out. Viewing Washington Webcams is a great way to see an area and know what to expect before you actually get there.
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