Multiple crashes on treacherous icy roads prompt warnings
Police and emergency services are urging drivers of the risks of driving on slippery alpine roads, with black ice and frosty roads plaguing the district in recent weeks and more than a dozen crashes, one causing the death of a visiting Hong Kong driver.
Otago Lakes Area Road Policing Manager Acting Senior Sergeant Dylan Hannah-Jones says while Police investigations into that fatality on Wednesday (15 July) morning a few kilometres south of Cardrona township are still continuing, “It looks like at this stage it was caused by a combination of factors”. Those likely included slippery alpine road conditions, a wet road and grit, Hannah-Jones says. While there were black ice warnings out for the Crown Range at the time, Hannah-Jones says “there’s never just one thing that contributes to an accident. Our investigations are continuing but generally speaking with accidents speed is a factor, so people need to drive to the conditions,” he says.
Police are urging drivers who can to delay early morning travel if they’re able to at present. “The most dangerous time on our roads is from daybreak, 6am until 9am – the coldest time when road temperatures are at their lowest, when any moisture can freeze if it’s rained and black ice or frost can form.”
Hannah-Jones says it’s also important to check the road worthiness of tyres and tyre pressure.
Police and firefighters have been called to multiple vehicles that have slidden off roads in treacherous icy conditions around the district in recent weeks with the extra callouts placing added pressure on local volunteer firefighters too. “It’s definitely been noticeable in the past few weeks, especially with visitor numbers up lately,” Fire and Emergency Otago Lakes Group assistant commander Nic McQuillan says. “We’re definitely seeing a very high number of accidents compared with the last three or four months. It’s the busiest it’s been all year for the regularity of crashes, ranging from minor to a fatality.” Local firefighters had been called to close to a dozen accidents in two weeks. “So, it’s very clear to me that people need to take more care,” McQuillan says. Driver behaviour hadn’t adjusted to the sharp arrival of winter following an unusually warm June this year, he says. “Temperatures have been variable every day and it would be good if people would familiarise themselves with road conditions before they leave on their journey,” McQuillan says. “We’ve had lots of cars parked in ditches. It’s happening frequently.”
