Central Kenai Peninsula law enforcement and first responders have been busy with a high number of accidents within the last few weeks and are asking drivers to slow down.
Nikiski Fire Department public information officer Bud Sexton…
Sexton: “During the recent times when we’ve had some icy roads and a little dusting of snow, we’ve experienced out in Nikiski quite an unusual amount of accidents for us. We had multiple vehicles in the ditches, we had several roll-over accidents, we even had a head-on collision as well. It looks like most if not all of those were related to the road conditions people were experiencing.”
Sexton says he understands that people get in the habit of driving on summer roads, but conditions have changed and it’s time to adjust driving. Sexton detailed the safest ways to know if roadways are slippery.
Sexton: “The best way to do it honestly is just assume it’s icy. Many people go to take off a little bit quicker and can feel their car slipping, if you are approaching a stop sign we encourage you to stop well in advance and you may find out that it’s a little bit more slippery than anticipated. If you’re on a road that has curves, you can just assume it’s slippery anytime you see a shadow.”
He says the best way to avoid rushing on icy roads is to leave ten minutes earlier than normal.