Drivers negotiating winter roads in Greater Sudbury have kept police busy this year, averaging 300 collisions a month since Oct. 1, 2017.
Police Chief Paul Pedersen presented the statistics to the police services board Thursday afternoon. Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 last year, Pedersen reported that police received 909 calls related to motor vehicle collisions, which is an average of almost eight collisions per day.
“To date, there have been over 300 collisions reported in the month of January alone,” the report said.
The stats come for the Accident Support Services International Ltd., who operate Sudbury’s Collision Reporting Centres and who maintains a complete collision records management database – known as the Collision Reporting and Occurrence Management System (CROMS).
“Based on information from CROMS, statistics show that our collision rates are highest between the hours of 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. and reach a peak at 4 p.m.,” the report said. “Although collisions occur daily, Wednesdays and Fridays show higher numbers than any other day of the week.”
The numbers for this year are similar to last year. The most common causes are following too close, improper turns, failing to yield the right-of-way and loss of control.
“Based on these findings, our traffic management unit is actively promoting winter safety driving tips to avoid collisions by following the rules of the road and driving according to conditions,” the report said.
