Poor weather generally means poor driving conditions.
The St. Albert RCMP are reporting 41 vehicle collisions between Nov. 27 to Dec. 4 an increase from the 6 reported between Nov. 20 to Nov. 27.
Cst. MJ Burroughs said she can’t comment or assume why there was an increase in collisions last week.
“But weather and road conditions can play a role in some collisions,” she said in an email to the Gazette.
According to data from the weather network, the temperature on Nov. 27 was 1.4 degrees by Dec. 1 the temperature had dropped to -20.
Misty Harris a spokesperson from Alberta Motor Association (AMA) said the weather played a part in the calls AMA received for assistance and the most common calls they were got were requests for tows and boosts.
“The combination of snow and frigid temperatures last week saw requests for roadside assistance spike by as much as seven times our usual volume. Wait times varied by day, but we had all hands-on deck to reach people as quickly as possible, while prioritizing drivers in unsafe situations,” said Harris.
Sheena Schlachter is the towing and transportation manager for Roadrunners Towing in St. Albert said business for has been fairly steady over the past week.
“We're looking between four- and five-hour ETA (estimated time of arrival) pretty much every day… (of) last week and this week so far. (We are) just trying to get caught up still,” she said.
Schlachter said the most common call they have been receiving is for towing.
“We've had boosting and unlocks and stuff but not near as what I would be expecting for yesterday's cold temperatures,” she said.
Temperatures hit a frigid -22.7 on Dec. 6, in St. Albert with the windchill making it feel like -40.
The towing company received 36 calls for boosting yesterday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“That's not typical. Usually, it's more people,” said Schlachter.
The total number of tows out of their call volume is hard to give an exact number for, said Schlachter, but she estimates tows around 85 per cent of their business with boosting, tire changes, and unlocks making up the rest of their calls.
Schlachter is asking people to be patient as they wait for a tow truck.
“Everyone's everything is a crisis and we can only get to so many people in such a short amount of time. Just have patience. We're trying to help everyone as fast as we can,” she said.
As for prevention, Schlachter along with Harris recommend people plug in their vehicles.
“The best thing people can do when it’s -15 C or colder is plug in their vehicle at least four hours before driving. That could mean the difference between an engine that starts and one that doesn’t,” said Harris
To prevent accidents, Burroughs recommends drivers drive to conditions including adjusting brake times and speed to the road and putting winter tires on in early fall.
Temperatures in St. Albert are supposed to hover around the -10 C mark throughout the week, according to the weather network. However, Monday is estimated to start off at -17 C.
