Teton Pass has been a travel corridor for thousands of years, from the early Native Americans to European settlers and now modern commuters.
Idaho Highway 33/Wyoming Highway 22, which runs from Victor, Idaho, to Wilson, Wyoming, is a busy thoroughfare for residents, commuters, commercial trucks and tourists.
Gary Kofinas is the chairman of the Teton Backcountry Alliance. According to Teton Backcountry Website, they are a grassroots organization that looks to promote public safety, stewardship and sustainability for Teton Pass.
He is also a member of the Make Teton Pass Safer committee.
Not only is the busy highway a way for commuters to get to jobs, it’s also a recreational highway with backcountry downhill skiing, boarding and snowmobiling.
Dangerous Highway
Since the beginning, the pass has been plagued with harsh winter storms, avalanches and in the modern era, horrific vehicle accidents, some of which turn fatal.
Kofinas says there are multiple reasons why.
“It’s one of the steepest roads in Wyoming, if not the country,” Kofinas said.
Much of the pass has stretches of 10% grades with long winding, downhill sections. It’s also hit annually with winter weather. The snow accumulates on the mountains and triggers avalanches. Many of those paths cross the roadway.
The biggest safety hazard?
The drivers.
“We have in the winter somewhere around 10,000 a day, crossing Teton Pass, on average, and in the summer months, and in the peak of tourism and activities, 14 to 15,000 cars a day,” Kofinas said.
Many drivers are either commuters or tourists. Visitors to the area often rent RVs and pull trailers behind them.
Commercial vehicles, such as semis, dump trucks and utility vehicles frequent the pass.
With steep grades and winding roads on the decent, many travelers struggle to use their vehicles properly. Trucks must be downshifted to avoid burning brakes. Those with little experience driving the pass can burn brakes and lose control.
“Many of the truckers are skilled and very knowledgeable at driving Teton Pass, but not all of them are.” Kofinas said. “If you’re driving an RV and you try to downshift if you’re going too fast, it won’t downshift.”
However, Kofinas feels it’s more complicated than brakes.
“A lot of these accidents are the consequence of what they say is brake failure but it’s really the consequence of operator failure of either not understanding how to drive their vehicle or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
In the winter, between November to the end of March, trailers are prohibited on the pass. Vehicles over 60,000 pounds are also prohibited.
According to tetonpass.org, since 1969, there have been 34 fatalities. From 2016 to 2020, there were eight fatal crashes, 60 injury crashes, 78 intersection-related crashes and 255 property-damage-only crashes. That's an average of 62 crashes a year. In the last five years, WYDOT reported a 20% increase in accidents on the pass.
Recent Crashes
Most recently, on July 7, a dump truck heading down the pass lost control and caused a multi-vehicle accident resulting in the deaths of David Page and Nick Besobrasow.
Kofinas and Page were colleagues. That day, they had meetings on the other side of the pass. That morning, Kofinas stayed behind.
“What really affected me was, bam, he left and I would say within seven minutes, he hit that truck,” Kofinas said.
Earlier this month, on Aug. 17, an RV hauling a trailer lost its brakes. The accident injured seven people including an infant passenger in the motorhome who was airlifted to a local hospital. No fatalities occurred.
“What are we? We’re just people trying to make the world better.” Kofinas said. “In David’s name, and many others, I decided to throw some energy into it along with some of my dear colleagues, some of my friends, who are also residents of both Teton County, Idaho and Teton County, Wyoming.”
Whats Next?
Most of the current solutions are short term. The Make Teton Pass Safer committee wants new signs throughout the pass, notifying travelers of safety precautions. They plan to work with Google and Apple to provide electronic safety alerts.
The group recently put together a moratorium to block major trucks from using the pass.
“Until we put something in place, let’s do something soon and then let’s get some things in place,” Kofinas said.
To get involved in the cause and for more information, visit tetonpass.org.