‘Another crash waiting to happen’: OPP warns about perils of impatience amid challenging winter conditions

Several collisions have been reported throughout the region as London grapples with a massive snow dump. CTV’s Gerry Dewan reports.

There were numerous crashes on the 400-series highways around London Thursday morning, keeping emergency responders busy.

Collisions on the eastbound Highway 402 near Colonel Talbot Road forced OPP to close the highway for about three hours. A section of the eastbound Highway 401 near Putnam Road also had to be closed, along with a section of Highway 403 near Woodstock.

West Region OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk says those were just a few of the incidents emergency responders had to deal with.

“Extremely busy up here in West Region, southwestern Ontario, responding to multiple crashes. Vehicles in the ditch, transport trucks turned over,” he explained.

Police say they responded to 217 crashes across the West Region throughout Thursday.

There has been a wide range of extreme weather events this season, including freezing rain, high winds, and heavy snowfalls. Sanchuk says it is imperative drivers don’t become impatient.

“Your all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive are only as good as the driver, along with your winter tires. So please just take your foot off the gas pedal, drive to your destination. But more importantly you want to arrive home safely to your families,” he said.

Sanchuk says there were clear examples of people not heeding that advice Thursday morning.

“When people see flashing emergency lights it doesn’t mean speed up. It means slow down and move over, when safe to do so. The one crash on the 402, people were going by us doing 90 to 100 kilometres an hour on a sheet of ice. So, it’s just yet another crash waiting to happen.”

The snow did taper off by midday, allowing road maintenance crews to get most roads cleaned up.

“Our sander/salters have been running for almost 24 hours at this point. And our larger plow equipment started early morning hours when we started to see the heavy accumulations,” explained Joel Gillard, road maintenance division manager for the City of London.

Still, Gillard says the quick freeze followed by heavy snow can create hidden dangers.

“Cold temperatures have a layer of ice underneath the snow. So, as we clean it up, you’re still going to have slippery conditions and to treat them,” he explained.

One issue the city is closely monitoring is the road salt supply.

“Luckily we’re okay. I know another some other municipalities are having some challenges with resourcing salt. We’ve had steady deliveries all week this week. A full day snowstorm makes it challenging for those deliveries,” he explained.

Gillard says forecasts indicate the likelihood of more significant snowfall events right through until the end of this month.