Driving along the 65-mile Alpine Loop through four southwestern Colorado counties – San Miguel, San Juan, Ouray and Hinsdale – is a breathtaking experience. The former mule trail is now a one-lane county road where parts are not for the faint of heart and is best navigated with off-road vehicles.

The road and beauty alongside it draw big crowds when it’s open during the spring and summer, and that’s the problem. And the problem – safety – is one that Rep. Barbara McLachlan of Durango intends to address through a bill that passed the House Transportation & Energy Committee on Thursday.

House Bill 1103 won unanimous support Thursday from the committee and now heads to the full House for debate.

McLachlan explained that some of the driving along the Loop has led to headaches for first-responders because in the past, there were few safety rules, and that led to accidents. Babies didn’t have to ride in car seats on the Loop, teenagers could zoom around on off-road vehicles without helmets, vehicles could be loaded with more people than was wise, and the like.

McLachlan told the transportation committee that Hinsdale County decided instead of restricting how many people could be on the road at a given time, that they’d impose stronger safety regulations than are required by state law, which only required an off-road vehicle have brakes, lights and a spark arrester (which prevents sparks that start wildfires).

The stronger rules have resulted in fewer accidents that require emergency response.

It’s a good idea but it came with a cost, and that cost was losing state trail grants used to keep the road in good repair. “They were losing money and making it safer,” McLachlan told Colorado Politics.

Under House Bill 1103, local governments can, but aren’t require to, impose stronger safety requirements without running into conflict with the state. That means:

Doug Vilsack of the Department of Natural Resources said during Thursday’s hearing that his department is neutral on the bill but has concerns. The department is supportive of stronger safety regulations, he said, but the department is also responsible for enforcing regulations.

The department has four rangers for enforcing regulations on off-highway vehicles (OHV), and they travel all over the state, including across county lines. “Our officers would have to be deputized to enforce these rules” in the counties that have already imposed them through county ordinances. It also presents challenges to visitors who might not know that rules are different depending on which county they’re in, as well as knowing just what kind of eye protection, helmet or child seat is required.

McLachlan said the counties involved with the Loop have agreed to enforce the regulations, and there is already a ranger who patrols the Loop daily.

Hinsdale County Commissioner Cindy Dozier told the committee the Loop gets 250,000 visitors per year. “We have embraced OHV’s as part of our heritage tourism economy,” she said. So the counties want to be united in expectations of how the Loop is used, she said, noting that Hinsdale and San Juan counties both enacted the safety ordinance last year.

Dozier and McLachlan pointed to one story that tells how the safety regulations have already saved lives. Last summer, Alpine Loop Ranger Allen Ray came upon a family headed to the Loop with a baby in their group. He asked the parents to get a car seat. They did, and later in the day their vehicle rolled on the Loop. The baby survived the rollover. “What’s a life worth?” Dozier asked. “This [bill] is simple and in the right direction.”

On the other, tragic side of the equation, Commissioner Ben Tisdel of Ouray County spoke of the fatalities that have taken place on the Loop road over the years. That includes drivers as young as 12 years old who aren’t required to hold driver’s licenses, he explained. The ordinances adopted for the Loop road now require the OHV operators to hold driver’s licenses and that has already led to fewer fatalities, Tisdel said.

The bill is endorsed by both the Colorado Municipal League, which represents cities, and Colorado Counties, Inc.

If House Bill 1103 clears the House, it will be carried in the Senate by Republican Sen. Don Coram of Montrose.