Chain Enforcement on I-90, Is there a better way?

i have been reading htis thread, but have never driven over I-90 during chain enforcement.

Last year i lived in Ashland Oregon and skied Mount Ashland, Shasta (ski area) and Shasta BC. to get to any of these places traveling on I-5 on Siskiyou pass is necessary.

During chain enforcement, their would be large signs, ODOT and state troopers just before the "hill" began with probably two miles of cars pulled over on the shoulder installing chains. The right line was also very backed up with semi trucks trying to pull onto the shoulder. The left lane, however, had almost no traffic, and all the Subarus and others with 4 wheel drive vehicles could easily keep a speed of about 40 mph for those few miles until reaching the enforcement point. there, the ODOT worker saw you were in a Sube, and all i ever need to do was slow down to about 10 mph as he waived my by.

my question is, what is different about the I-90 pass that stops this "smooth and ordered process" i experienced in south Oregon?

rarely, Siskiyou pass would close completely for semis and the right lane would be backed up all the way to north ashland, but 4WD vehicles were barely held up.

And the local news coverage doesn't help. Their constant panicky reportsadd to John Q Public's nervousness about driving uphill even before he leaves Seattle. We were stuck in it last week, got off at Tinkham Road and just played in the snow. The good news is - it's caused by lots and lots of snow!

I think the difference is that Ashland is not Seattle. There are just more people driving I-90 across Snoqualmie Pass in the winter than there are at Siskiyou. Any slowdown will cause a backup when there is heavy volume like that.

If people put on winter tires and drove with some sort of caution, we could get by without all the congestion and putting on chains and the State Patrol babysitting the rookie winter drivers.

How many times have you seen a sports car , spinning their rear tires, not going anywhere? I see it a Crystal quite often.

How many people try to drive with tires that have 50% tread? Probably alot.

If you're going to drive in the mountains during the winter, the most important thing to have is good tires. Winter rated snow tires.

I've seen many a 4-wheel drive slid off the road on SR410 . The main cause are poor tires and driving too fast.

If everyone had good winter tires, drove at a speed consistant with conditions and give each other plenty of room, I predict the State Patrol could sit and have coffee in a warm restaurant on the pass, and just let people drive.

We are our own worst enemy.

If people put on winter tires and drove with some sort of caution, we could get by without all the congestion and putting on chains and the State Patrol babysitting the rookie winter drivers.

You're absolutely right, but I'm afraid that this will become universal practice around here about when monkeys fly out of my butt. Most folks around here just don't get enough snow experience to learn basics (everyone has 4 wheel brakes so your 4WD won't miraculously stop, pushing hard on the accelerator just makes the wheel spin faster and the ice slicker under it but gentle forward/reverse/repeat rocking can work wonders as can a bit of momentum, how to steer out of a fishtail, etc...).

I am with Dave and think the enforcement will help. As Pete and Dave said--go early. Also take your Subaru with snow tires and you're golden. The silver lining in the closures is that it's snowing and turning out to be an epic winter. Bare and dry is no good IMO. Another alternative during the lunacy is to take exit 38, 42, or 45 and start skinning. Happy New Year.