WELLINGTON COUNTY – The impact of the holiday weekend’s severe weather was felt by the Wellington OPP who were dispatched to hundreds of incidents over a four-day period.
Joshua Cunningham, Wellington OPP media officer, said in an email between Dec. 23 and 26 the service received over 500 calls.
Road conditions are worsening in @wellingtncounty. #WellingtonOPP are asking motorists to avoid unnecessary travel. Drivers are going TOO FAST in these poor weather conditions. Multiple accidents already this morning due to drivers not adjusting their driving behaviour. ^JU pic.twitter.com/eljiSss3wM
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) December 23, 2022
Preliminary numbers, which do not include non-reportable or self-reported collisions, Cunningham said it appeared Wellington OPP were dispatched to approximately 200 incidents that may be tied to the weather in some capacity.
“These include investigations reported as dangerous conditions, abandoned motor vehicles, reportable motor vehicle collisions, towed vehicles, traffic complaints, traffic control requests and traffic hazards,” Cunningham stated.
“Due to the heavy workload placed on officers during this event, many investigations are still ongoing.”
This #WellingtonOPP officer was on the shoulder of a road in @wellingtncounty at the scene of a collision when he was rear-ended by a motorists. Thankfully no injuries. SLOW DOWN and pay attention if you have to be out on the road today and tomorrow. ^JU pic.twitter.com/mVw5jWXnKe
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) December 23, 2022
No vehicle collisions over the time period had injury levels above non-life threatening.
Many county roads and provincial highways would be closed over this period due to the severe weather conditions but drivers were found to have ignored road closed orders.
Cunningham was not able to provide an accurate number of those who drove on closed highways due to the high volume of drivers disobeying closed road prohibitions.
He said in the email Wellington OPP focused on engaging and educating drivers for this offense while noting drivers should check with their insurer to see if their vehicle’s insurance is valid when they drive on a closed highway.
“I will say that officers found drivers' ignorance or apathy trying,” Cunningham wrote.
“What many people do not realize is that when a highway is closed it changes the driveability of that section of highway. Shoulders may not be cleared, minimal roadway standards may not be met and workers and equipment may be on the highway.”
Cunningham was also unable to say how many stuck vehicles had to be towed on county roads as not all required a licensed tow company or had to be arranged through the police.
“Without a doubt, the severe weather significantly impacted emergency service,” Cunningham said.
“We’d like to thank all those who did take warnings seriously, it allowed services to work at full tilt. We had plenty of drivers who learned a valuable lesson about winter driving and thankfully it didn’t come at the cost of any lives.”
