Snowy weekend creating havoc on Lower Mainland roads, highways
ICBC faces surge of calls across the Lower Mainland as snowplows struggle to clear and sand streets
The swift return of snowfall this weekend meant busted bumpers and insurance woes for B.C. drivers caught off guard.
Friday and Saturday, ICBC handled a surge in calls as drivers took to icy roads during heavy snowfall. Even after city workers in Vancouver and elsewhere worked to salt and brine major arterial roads in anticipation of Friday’s dump, many drivers spent Saturday slipping and sliding.
“A lot of people just don’t think (winter tires) are necessary for some reason,” said Sterling Arndt, owner of OK Tire Vancouver. Usually, they’re put off by the price, said Arndt, with full sets typically starting around $400 but reaching up to $2,000 for luxury SUVs.
Arndt added that some drivers are oblivious to or have never experienced the added traction a good set of winter tires provides, particularly because it’s been years since the Lower Mainland has been hit by heavy snowfall.
And he’s not talking about all-weather tires marked “M+S” for mud and snow, which he said the industry calls “three-season” tires because they’re inadequate on ice.
Arndt said it takes just an hour to put on a set of winter tires. It’s easy to order the right match from the firm’s warehouse if a store’s stock is running low.
“I just don’t think people grasp how much of a difference it makes,” Arndt said. “An accident costs way more than a set of tires, right?”
ICBC spokesman Sam Corea said the Crown corporation received 5,074 calls on Friday, far above its daily average of 2,800 but on par with snowy Mondays last month.
Corea said not all calls were regarding collisions, but the spike in volume represented the difficulties drivers were having. About 75 per cent of calls came from drivers in the Lower Mainland. By Saturday afternoon, ICBC was forecasting about 3,000 calls — double the day’s average volume.
“The key message is it’s still winter and — we say it over and over again — drive for the conditions,” Corea said.
“Just because there’s a posted speed limit, that doesn’t mean you can drive the same way you do on a snowy February day as you do on a sunny day in August.”
Corea said drivers who stick to city roads don’t tend to buy winter tires but their insurance won’t be rendered invalid if they’re in a crash without them. But in the assessment of the claim, if it’s found that a safety device such as winter tires could have helped, the assessment of fault could be affected, he noted.
Winter tires are not mandatory in B.C. but are required on designated winter tire and chain-up routes, such as the Sea to Sky and Coquihalla highways. Drivers who don’t comply can be turned back or fined.
Corea urged drivers to prepare for winter conditions if they plan on taking these routes during the upcoming B.C. Family Day long weekend.
Friday, Jerry Dobrovolny, general manager of engineering for the City of Vancouver, urged drivers to keep their cars parked during snowfall unless they have snow tires.
“What I would stress is it’s important that we all be prepared for winter conditions,” he said. “We had lots of warning this week.”
Across B.C., continued snowfall meant snowplow drivers could barely keep up.
In Chilliwack, where more than 20 centimetres of snow fell overnight Friday and continued Saturday, resident Cam Arnold spent the morning pulling cars out of snow banks.
City snowplows were busy keeping drifting snow off main roads, leaving side roads swamped. Arnold said he pulled out about 30 cars over four hours using his Ford F150 and a chain.
“Everyone is pretty grateful,” he said. “I noticed during the last snowfall, people just kept driving past the stuck cars.”
Arnold was planning to go to work in Langley, but he decided to stay home and help his neighbours instead, posting a message on social media telling anyone who needed a hand to message him. He hopes to be out again Sunday if the snow continues to fall.
Late Saturday afternoon, Environment Canada forecast up to another 10-15 cm of snowfall in the Fraser Valley through Sunday at noon. No weather alerts were in effect for Metro Vancouver.
Vancouver’s seven-day forecast calls for periods of snowfall Sunday and Monday but a return to rain Tuesday.