Snow arrived in Owen Sound yesterday and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. During the afternoon rush hour, motorists were faced with the first snow of the season causing havoc on our roads.
At 4:30 pm police began to receive 9-1- 1 calls about the deteriorating road conditions and vehicles being stranded on the east and west hills in Owen Sound. Soon after, police were busy responding to emergency calls involving motor vehicle collisions that were not entirely related to the weather conditions, but were due to unpreparedness for winter and driver error. Many of the vehicles that police encountered were without snow tires or had poor tire-tread that directly impacted the ability to negotiate winter weather.
Before 7:30pm police had responded to numerous 9-1- 1 related calls:
– nine motor vehicle collisions
– a stranded school bus
– a jack-knifed tractor and trailer
– a snowplow collision that knocked down a hydro pole
– a collision related dispute that required 9-1-1 response because of its hostile nature
– numerous vehicles stranded on both the east and west hills
– an unoccupied vehicle sliding into live traffic from a driveway onto the road
– five motor more vehicle collisions reported to our Reporting Centre this morning
The Owen Sound Police remind you that having the proper tires, driving appropriately for the weatherconditions and having an alternative plan to stay off the roads in storms such as these will prevent collisions and can prevent serious injuries to you or your family.
During storms, do not call 9-1- 1 or the communications centre asking for weather or road updates.
Following our police operations account on twitter will allow you to be informed of important information and broadcasts from us in an emergency. Follow us here: @OwenSoundPolice .