You can stop dreaming now: It was indeed a very White Christmas, so let’s drive appropriately.
Chatham-Kent OPP are urging motorists to take more care on Highway 401 after officers dealt with 14 weather-related collisions between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
According to police, the incidents happened from 3:45 a.m. on Dec. 24 to 7:50 p.m. on Dec. 25 — and poor road conditions were a factor in all of them.
All drivers are asked to adjust their behaviour appropriately with winter weather: Slow down and prioritize control over speed.
“Driving too fast for road conditions is the number one cause of winter collisions,” Chatham-Kent OPP noted.
“Allow yourself extra time to get to and from your destination.”
On the afternoon of Dec. 23, Essex County OPP had to close the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 in Lakeshore after a Volkswagen SUV rear-ended an unmarked police vehicle that had stopped on the shoulder of the highway.
The incident happened around 2:50 p.m. near the County Road 77 exit. Five people were taken to hospital, including the OPP officer who was in the unmarked police car.
Injuries were considered non-life threatening. OPP said on Wednesday that the officer has since been discharged from hospital.
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is looking into the incident, as mandated by the Police Services Act.
Essex County OPP also had to shut down the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 on Tuesday morning due to a tractor trailer ending up in a ditch.
Lakeshore OPP investigate a collision between a Volkswagen SUV and an unmarked police car in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 on Dec. 23, 2017.
Lakeshore OPP investigate a collision between a Volkswagen SUV and an unmarked police car in the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 on Dec. 23, 2017.
