By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo rocked by accidents over snowy weekend

Feb 6, 2017 | 4:05 PM

NANAIMO — Over the weekend, you couldn’t drive around the city without seeing the flash of emergency lights as crews handled accidents on the slippery roads.

Const. Gary O’Brien with Nanaimo RCMP said there were 22 reported car accidents since Friday, Feb. 3.

He said many happened on Hammond Rd. and along Jinglepot Rd.

“Several significant (accidents) along Superior Rd. near the highway where ice took over and cars went over the side,” he said. “Increased vehicle traffic of course caused a huge concern.”

Many residents commented on Facebook or called the NanaimoNewsNOW newsroom to complain of drivers being reckless on the roads. O’Brien said the RCMP haven’t handed out any dangerous driving charges.

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Lance Stephenson, director of patient care delivery for the B.C. Ambulance Service on Vancouver Island, said motorists had slowed down since so much snow fell and most of the crashes weren’t significant and led to non-life threatening injuries.

“We’ve got to tell people to slow down ever more. They’re coming into these intersections way too fast, they’re not able to stop in time and they’re sliding right through catching cars coming on the green,” he said.

Stephenson said even on major highways which have been cleared are still slippery and drivers should use caution, even if they’re driving bigger trucks.

“Four-by-fours are still just as hard to stop as any other vehicle. Just because they’re a four-by-four doesn’t make them any better. We need people to slow down and take ownership of what they’re doing out there with these extremely challenging road conditions.”

Emergency responders drive through the same nasty conditions as everyone else, which means their response time is delayed. Stephenson said this means people may be stuck in the snow and cold longer, so drivers need to be prepared with safety kits and blankets.

More snow is set to fall over the next few days.

Stephenson recommended drivers slow down to beneath the speed limit depending on conditions, be aware of other drivers, not use cruise control and use their judgment before hitting the road.

“Make it a snow day. Lets take advantage of the snow we do have and make it more of a happy thing, rather than a sad thing by getting into accidents.”

Spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit