R.C.M.P. Throughout Region Send out Winter Warnings

By 250 News

Winter Driving Conditions are Here,  Drivers need to Adjust Accordingly

A rash of car crashes in the City of Prince George and throughout the region have the R.C.M.P. wondering when motorists are going to get the message that winter weather brings with it the need to slow down.

In Prince George, R.C.M.P. say there were a number of minor mishaps overnight.  And while one involved an impaired driver, the remainder were simply the result of drivers going too fast for road conditions.

And the R.C.M.P.'s North Pacific Traffic Services is reporting two similar incidents that were also the result of driving too fast.  Fortunately, also, without deadly consequences.

Sergeant Don Murray says charges are being contemplated against the driver of a tractor-trailer unit that was going too fast on Highway 37, between Kitimat and Terrace, when the rig side-swiped a van, went into the ditch and hit a utility pole.  Murray says the female passenger in the rig suffered minor injuries.  The two people in the van escaped unharmed.  R.C.M.P. allege the 44-year-old truck driver from Burnaby had excessive driving hours, had not done a pre-trip inspection on his vehicle and had failed to complete a log.

Sergeant Murray says the other crash involved a pick-up truck that  left the road on Highway 16, near Legate Creek, and travelled more than 100-metres -- over rocks, dirt and two trees -- before coming to rest at the bottom of an embankment.  The vehicle's airbags deployed and a 54-year-old Prince Rupert man and his 16-year-old son -- both seatbelted in -- were uninjured.

Murray says collision data indicates the fall season is the time of year that motorists tend to speed and drive too fast for road conditions.  He points out a recent conference hosted by the Northern Health Authority found residents in Northern B.C. are two-and-a-half times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than counterparts elsewhere in the province. 

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