Panel debates steep fines for oversized vehicles stuck in Smuggler's Notch
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Summary
The committee reviewed language raising penalties for entering Smuggler's Notch with an oversized vehicle to $10,000 and to $20,000 (or double on repeat offense) when a vehicle becomes stuck and impedes traffic; counsel said the increases are defensible given recovery costs but committee members called them 'extreme.'
Legislative counsel told the Transportation Committee on April 7 that the miscellaneous motor‑vehicle bill would sharply increase penalties for oversized vehicles in Smuggler’s Notch, a narrow mountain pass.
"So 10 thou up from $1,000 to $10,000, and up from $2,000 to $20,000, if you get stuck and substantially impede the flow of traffic," Damien Leonard, legislative counsel, said as he read proposed section 8. He added that a second or subsequent conviction within three years would double the penalty and that liability would fall on the employer if the operator was acting within the scope of employment.
A committee member pushed back on the magnitude of the increases. "These are extreme increases," the member said, asking at what point a penalty becomes constitutionally problematic. Leonard acknowledged Vermont has limited case law on proportionality but said the high costs of removing a stuck vehicle — often tens of thousands of dollars and extended road closures that tie up emergency services — make the penalty changes "rationally related" to the public costs and therefore defensible in his view.
Members also discussed signage and local experiences with vehicles getting stuck; one member urged much larger warning signs before the notch given the proposed fines. The committee did not vote on the penalty language and deferred further drafting and discussion.
The committee will continue its section‑by‑section review later in the session and has not scheduled a final vote on the penalty provision.
