Montezuma County traffic isn’t exclusive to cars. Rural life often includes hundreds of cattle and a couple of working dogs trudging along Colorado highways.
Livestock drives will continue through early December, and the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office asks motorists to share the road and allow cattle to pass.
“When you see a cattle drive, you need to slow down,” said Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin.
“Just be patient, you’ll get through the herd. If they're coming to you, stop, and let them go around you. If they're going in the same direction as you, just drive so slowly, and I mean really slowly. You'll get through it,” he said.
Cattle drives may involve 30 to 300 animals on the roadway, accompanied by working dogs and sometimes ranchers on horseback as they move seasonally between high-country and valley pastures.
Under state law, ranchers and cowhands have the right to move livestock on public roads, including cattle, horses or sheep. Nowlin said drives more commonly occur along Colorado Highways 145 and 184 and east and south on U.S. 160. Major cattle-drive corridors also include Roads 25 and 29, north and south of Dolores on Road 31, and near Mancos on Road 41.
Nowlin said the reminder was not prompted by an uptick in incidents but is a timely message issued during peak herd migrations in spring and fall.
“It’s the drivers that create the incidents and problems,” Nowlin said. “It’s a safety hazard, because a lot of folks figure they don't have a right to be in the road, and they can use their vehicle to push them out of the way. That’s a violation of state law.”
“You cannot use your vehicle to hit anything,” he continued, adding that deputies have responded to crashes in past years involving horses being struck because drivers refused to slow down.
He said for farmers, “this is their livelihood,” and anyone who hits livestock or horses due to negligence commits a crime.
Cow-calf pairs may bellow or dart unpredictably as they try to reunite with their young, and drivers should be ready to stop completely if this happens. Nowlin asked people not to honk, which startles the animals and complicates the work of herders.
Nighttime poses the greatest danger because dark-colored livestock are hard to spot, causing most crashes involving cars and livestock.
“Sometimes with fences, the cattle do get out on the roadways. So, just like with all wildlife out there, people have to watch for loose cattle getting out on the roadway. So just be patient and be aware that they are out there,” Nowlin said.
The Sheriff’s Office coordinates with ranchers when possible. Ranchers often give notice before moving herds so deputies can assist with traffic control.
“You’re still going to see them even through the holidays and into the first part of December,” Nowlin said.
