As Nanaimo RCMP started pulling over speeding drivers Thursday afternoon on the Nanaimo Parkway the weather was dry but it soon took a turn for the worse as it started to rain.
Despite the weather change, police continued catching speeding drivers. One was driving in a 90 km/hr zone when she was clocked going 132 km/hr.
“The roads get slick and sadly the drivers don’t adjust their speeds to that and what we see are a number of accidents, especially rear-enders,” said Const. Gary O’Brien with Nanaimo RCMP.
Wednesday saw the first heavy rains in a while on Vancouver Island and the wet roads factored into a number of crashes.
There was one in Comox before 7 p.m. Wednesday on Knight Road near Sieffert’s Farm that saw a driver lose control before crashing into trees on the side of the road. The passenger managed to get out but firefighters had to use the jaws of life to rescue the driver.
“This one on Knight Road was a serious crash. We got called out initially for one motor vehicle accident in Comox and we responded to that and then immediately after that we this one,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jim Lariviere of the Comox Fire Department.
Near Thetis Lake in View Royal, a vehicle wound up facing the opposite direction in the northbound lanes. Traffic was backed up for quite a distance Wednesday evening.
Police say the first rain in a while always seems to catch some drivers off-guard.
“The oils that are seeped in the road naturally start to leak out and it makes roads very slick for the drivers. Most drivers are not aware of that. This is a real accident waiting to happen so please keep your speeds down,” said O’Brien.
Police say poor judgement in dangerous conditions isn’t the only issue.
In a 90 minute blitz two days ago, Nanaimo RCMP handed out 19 tickets for people using their cellphones while driving.
“It crossed all demographics. We had men, women, young drivers, old drivers,” said O’Brien.
Driver’s were handed a $368 dollar fine and four points.
Police suggest putting your phone on silent or having a designated texter in the car and slowing down when roads are wet.
Kendall Hanson
