A slippery sliding day
State police urge drivers to slow down in snow
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The driver of a white SUV that slid off the side of Route 62 in Barre waits for a tow truck Monday morning. Slick, snowy roads made travel hazardous in central Vermont throughout the day. KYLE MARTEL/TIMES ARGUS |
Toolbox
Times Argus Staff - Published: December 29, 2009
MIDDLESEX - After spending much of Monday responding to automobile slips, scrapes and collisions, Vermont State Police have two words of warning to drivers today: Slow down.
In all, state troopers responded to roughly two dozen accidents during the day.
"As far as this morning, the accidents were on Interstate 89," said Lt. Paul White, noting police were dealing with accidents along the entire distance of the Middlesex barrack's coverage from Brookfield up beyond Waterbury.
White said the section of I-89 around Williamstown Exit 5 was particularly treacherous on Monday morning. Around that area police reported two collisions, six cars that slid off the road, and a tractor-trailer that jackknifed and blocked both southbound lanes (one of the two collisions included a car hitting the truck).
The interstate's southbound lane was blocked for about 90 minutes as the tractor trailer was removed, state police said.
State police said a raft of accidents also broke out around Middlesex exit 9 in the morning. The worst occurred when a 1995 Ford Ranger pickup went off the road and overturned, ending up in the median on its roof. At least three other vehicles slid into the median but sustained no damage, police said.
White said accidents are typically clustered along the southern stretch of the Middlesex barrack's patrol area - around Brookfield Heights - or the northern stretch to Waterbury. On Monday, however, vehicles were off the road along the entire distance.
"We got the one-two punch," said White. "People were driving too fast for the road conditions. It all boils down to that."
White said the light snowfall became packed onto the roadway, creating slippery conditions.
"Conditions aren't that bad if people would drive reasonably," he said. But, he added, "One person loses control, the next person panics and hits their brakes, and they lose control."
No one was seriously injured in any of the accidents reported as of late Monday afternoon, White said. Police around the region reported several minor accidents during another snow squall Friday evening.
With more snow in the forecast, White had some advice for drivers hitting the roads this morning.
First, he said, slow down. "Ninety percent (of the accidents) are a result of people driving too fast," he said.
In addition, leave an extra distance between your vehicle and the one ahead of you. And, White said, don't overreact and slam your brakes.
Finally, White said, be alert to weather conditions, as well as to the people and vehicles around you.
"Even though you might be very good at driving in the snow, the people around you might not be," he said.
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