MONTPELIER, VERMONT — The Vermont Senate unanimously passed a bill Friday that would multiply fines tenfold for truck drivers who get stuck on the notoriously winding Route 108 through Smuggler’s Notch, pushing the penalty from $2,000 to $20,000.
S. 326 targets a persistent problem on Vermont Route 108 between Cambridge and Stowe, where trucks regularly become stuck on the narrow, twisting mountain road. Under current law, employers of drivers who block traffic in the Notch face a minimum $2,000 fine plus a smaller moving violation penalty. The new bill would raise that to $20,000 and add five points to the driver’s record.
Beyond the Notch fines, S. 326 includes several other provisions. The bill would allow state and local employees to drive trucks without a CDL during a governor-declared emergency. It would also let the DMV immediately suspend licenses for unpaid fees, make it illegal to paint license plates a different color from their original issue, and allow some former prisoners to obtain a replacement license after completing their sentence. The bill also raises snowmobile fines for operating without proper registration, bumping the first-offense penalty from $135 to $450.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously. However, it still needs to clear the Vermont House and receive a signature from Governor Phil Scott before it becomes law.
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