On Wednesday, Dec. 7, Oregon State Police will be conducting a second one-day chain enforcement effort on selected locations and mountain passes around the state. The extra enforcement follows a similar effort that was held on Nov. 15th.

OSP chain enforcement efforts received a boost this year with a $38,678 grant from the Oregon DOT’s Transportation Safety Division to provide 630 hours of overtime enforcement in 12 selected mountain passes.

Areas around the state that have been selected for extra enforcement during the winter season are:

• Interstate 5 (Siskiyou Summit);
• Interstate 84 (Pendleton east through Ladd Canyon );
• Highway 58 ( Willamette Pass );
• Highway 20 ( Santiam Pass );
• Highway 26 (Government Camp/Mt. Hood Pass);
• Interstate 5 ( Sexton Mountain between Roseburg and Grants Pass );
• Interstate 84 (Weatherby Exchange and Threemile Hill between Baker City and Ontario );
• Highway 140 ( Doak Mountain and Seldom Hill near Lake of the Woods ); and
• Highway 97 (Spring Creek Hill north of Chiloquin).

Under Oregon code, there are three levels of chain laws during winter weather conditions:

• Level 1: Both trucks and passenger vehicles must have chains in their vehicles;
• Level 2: Trucks are required to chain up; and
• Level 3: All vehicles are required to chain up.

In the current enforcement effort, officers are watching for Level 1 violations, meaning all trucks must be carrying chains. A total of six chains are required for Class 8 vehicles in the state, according to information from the reference text “For the Long Haul.”

However, it’s always a good idea to have spare chains because one of yours could break. And, Washington , for example, requires you carry extras.