FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Fire Department shared some winter driving tips after quite a bit of snow flew through the city on Friday.
Friday afternoon, eight semi-trailer trucks spun off Highway 97 on the south Taylor hill, though no accidents were reported.
Deputy Fire Chief Matt Troiano’s best advice is not to go out unless absolutely necessary when there are dangerous road conditions.
“Roads are slippery. They’re icy. There’s a lot of people that are reporting vehicles in the ditch right now. It’s all around not a safe time to travel,” Troiano said.
If it is necessary to travel, his biggest piece of advice is to drive slowly.
“Nobody should be in a rush to get anywhere when the roads are like this,” he said.
Troiano also recommended ensuring the proper equipment is in the vehicle before travel in case something goes wrong.
“Especially heading north on the highway, there’s a long stretch of highway that not a lot of people that go out that far and emergency services, it takes us a long time to get up that far,” he explained.
“So when it’s cold outside, and there’s this much snow out there, we wanna make sure that people are packing the right stuff in case they do get stuck in the snow to be able to stay safe and stay warm.”
Extra clothing, a warm blanket, food, water, a fully charged cell phone and a backup battery are items Troiano recommends residents keep in their vehicles, especially while driving in the winter.
He also emphasized the importance of having good winter tires and chains if needed.
In B.C., vehicles must have all-season mud and snow tires, or tires with the mountain or snowflake on them, according to ICBC’s requirements for winter driving.
Troiano added that if the worst does happen, drivers should call 911 in an emergency.