Mother nature proved once again at how unprepared people are for winter. Everybody knows it's coming, nothing is going to stop the cold and snow from appearing around this time of year so why do so many people have issues understanding this simple fact.
The recent freezing rain event brought this to the forefront and it was amazing at how many people took to social media to whine and complain that neither the city or YRB was out there doing their jobs. YRB has a huge area to cover and have a finite amount of equipment and personnel and they can't be everywhere at once and if an accident occurs well guess what they are in the lineup just like everyone else going nowhere fast. As to the City they have limited trucks and unfortunately has a reputation for being slow out of the gate.
As to the motoring public out there you cannot rely on roads to be plowed, salted or sanded all the time and if you hold a valid drivers license you are required to by law drive according to the road conditions unfortunately many drivers don't follow this simple rule. During the freezing rain event how many drivers blamed the city and YRB instead of wondering if it was their driving that caused the accident. Yes, the roads were slick and yes they were dangerous but I made it to work driving 30 to 40k an hour and even slower if the conditions demanded it as did many of the other drivers on the road I saw and admittedly had some hair raising moments but I made it safely to work.
How many of you were relying on your vehicles safety features and tires to keep you safe instead of driving according to conditions? Sure there are valid reasons as in inexperienced drivers, experienced drivers who have not have not done winter driving and no matter how good your driving is there are times an accident can't be avoided. With that being said most of the accidents that day likely could of been prevented through driving according to road conditions but I doubt many will see it that way.
Dean Soiland
Prince George
