BC saw 160% spike in crash reports during last week's snowstorm
The Insurance Corporation of BC saw a 160% spike in insurance claims on January 11 as snow and cold weather made Metro Vancouver roads slick.
The province’s only insurance provider has tallied the number of claims during last week’s snowstorm, saying 3,581 different incidents were reported.
Claim reports are a proxy to measure the number of crashes — though this figure doesn’t include minor collisions that weren’t reported where drivers may have preferred to pay for repairs out of pocket.
The number of claims made Thursday was 160% higher than the daily average of 1,381 claims over the last two weeks (December 31 to January 14).
It’s no secret that many drivers got into hairy situations during the snowy weather. There was a massive pileup crash on a Richmond highway involving at least 25 vehicles, and countless instances of vehicles slipping down icy hills in the region. In one widely-shared video, a woman is seen getting out of her vehicle as it spins and slides down a road.
The Lower Mainland is in for another pounding by Mother Nature this week, as a storm brings warmer temperatures and a hefty amount of precipitation. Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting between 15 and 30 centimetres of snow in the Fraser Valley, where outflow winds will keep temperatures cold.
In other parts of Metro Vancouver, the temperature will be close to freezing — so it’s not clear yet whether the majority of precipitation will fall as snow, rain, or freezing rain.