When the first big snow arrives, you’d expect there to be quite a few traffic accidents as people adjust to winter driving.
But that’s not always the case, says Sgt. Chris Newel, commander of the Kimberley RCMP Detachment, espcially when there is a big dump of snow. Newel says when the first snow is a big one, people respond with extra caution.
“When we get a real heavy snow, people are very, very cautious. They drive very carefully and think about staying home if it’s not really important to get somewhere.”
That has proven true in the past few days, he says, as aside from a few minor accidents that you would typically get in any weather, there weren’t any major problems after the season’s first big accumulation.
Newel says problems often come further into the season.
“People tend to get more complacent. Even today, you can see that the roads are not bad, and people will start picking up speed. That’s when you see more accidents.”