Winter Challenges Drivers

Cold may have replaced the frequent snowfalls in recent weeks, giving harried motorists and snowplow drivers a break from the poor visibility and growing snow piles along roads.
It has given law enforcement a break, too, from responding to auto accidents. Crash data from Chanhassen and Chaska indicate almost equal crashes between events when there has been 2 to 5 inches of snowfall and events there has been 8 to 11 inches of snowfall.

When there’s snow on the road, there are more auto accidents, according to statistics from both the Chaska Police Department and Carver County Sheriff’s Office.

 “The worse the roads get, the worse the visibility, the more accidents you’re going to have,” said Capt. Jon Kehrberg with the Chaska Police Department.

Big snow events in November got the season off to a crash-bang start. On Nov. 13, between 8 and 11 inches of powdery white stuff fell in Chaska and Chanhassen, and apparently caught by surprise many motorists who found themselves in the ditch or sliding into an accident. The heaviest crash total so far this season, 27, was in Chanhassen on Nov. 13.

There was no let-up in December. Numerous snowstorms buried the state, and December 2010 broke the state’s snowfall record for one month. On Dec. 26, the snow measured 33.4 inches deep at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.

Sgt. Peter Anderley, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office liaison in Chanhassen, said all that snow translated to extra work for deputies.

“December had quite an increase [in auto accidents] from last year to this year,” he said.
Although it would be easy to assume heavy snowfalls would make driving more treacherous, according to Anderley, light snowfalls tend to be just as dangerous because drivers tend to drive less cautiously.

“People look outside and say, ‘Oh, there’s only 1 inch of snow. The roads aren’t slippery.’ Then there are more cars out and more people driving at regular speeds on slippery roads,” he said.
The message from law enforcement to motorists every winter is “slow down.”

“Your visibility is down. We don’t know where the black ice is. Spend extra time getting to your destination during the winter months,” said Anderley.

So far this winter, there has been one auto accident fatality in Chanhassen. The fatality was reported by the Minnesota State Patrol. It took place during the Dec. 20-21 snowfall.

On Dec. 20, law enforcement all over the state was busy. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported statewide from 3 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. there were 124 property damage crashes, 17 injury crashes, 324 vehicles off the road and no fatal crashes.

There have been no fatalities within Chaska this winter, but there was one just south of town on an icy Highway 41 on Jan. 3.

Between Nov. 13, 2010, and Jan. 14, 2011, the Chaska Police Department responded to two personal injury accidents. During the same time period, Carver County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to five personal injury accidents in Chanhassen.

Provided By: Chaska Herald
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