Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 19, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A recent rash of car accidents should serve as a reminder to Yellowknife motorists to take care in the winter conditions.

Three different motor vehicle accidents happened on the snowy roads around town and on the highway Monday.

"That's a little more than normal," said RCMP Sgt. Vic Steinhammer.

The first incident was early in the day when a semi-trailer truck turned over into the ditch at the corner of Old Airport Road east of Borden Drive.

Steinhammer said it was a situation where the driver misjudged the edge of the road due to the amount of snow, and slipped off the soft shoulder into the ditch.

"It's really hard to gauge when it's all covered in snow," he said, mentioning that the corner is a high truck traffic area.

Then at around two in the afternoon, there was a three-car accident at the corner of 52 Street and 52 Avenue. Steinhammer said two of the cars were going through the intersection, and one of them hit the other, which in turn hit a parked car.

There were no injuries in the second accident, he said.

However, 52 Street was blocked off for a short period of time while police watched over the scene and waited for tow trucks to remove the vehicles.

Shortly after that, there was a head-on collision on Highway 3 near the Jackfish Lake power plant.

Steinhammer said the accident involved two vehicles. An eastbound vehicle lost control and collided with the westbound vehicle.

He said one male occupant was transported to Stanton hospital with minor injuries, but no one else was injured. The highway was blocked off for approximately an hour while the vehicles were being removed.

While Steinhammer did admit three accidents in one day was high for Yellowknife, he added that it's the time of year when collision rates are higher.

The RCMP-compiled crime map in today's Yellowknifer lists 14 vehicle collisions occurring between Dec. 3-16. Steinhammer said last weekend's new snowfall probably contributed as well, but cautioned motorists to be careful in any winter conditions.

"The roads are slippery, people just need to slow down," he said.

Environment Canada's website states that Yellowknife received a total of 8 cm of snow over the weekend, with the heaviest fall being 5.4 cm on Sunday.

The city's public works department is sanding daily during the week, but they too advise residents that caution is always necessary.

Jim Mercereau, assistant superintendent of roads and sidewalks for the city, said sand trucks are out starting at 3 a.m. during the week, and all the city's streets get at least one pass each day. Crews operate on call during weekends depending on the weather.

"Usually after a snowfall, we try to clear the roads before sanding, because the sand isn't as effective on new snow," Mercereau said.

He said that changing temperatures can bring out more frost on the bare pavement, and new snow is always a hazard.

"I see people travelling at summer speeds still. People need to use caution at all times. The conditions can change overnight," he said.