West Shore RCMP are warning drivers of the wet weather after a series of incidents involving vehicle collisions that occurred in a matter of two hours on Friday morning.
At 6 a.m., a BC Transit bus rolled over travelling southbound on the Trans Canada Highway near Thetis Lake while attempting to avoid a possible hazard caused by a vehicle.
The bus was empty when the incident occurred, save the driver. The driver was taken to hospital by ambulance to be treated for non-life threatening injuries.
An hour later, around 7 a.m., RCMP responded to a two-vehicle head-on collision at the intersection of Wale Road and Goldstream Avenue resulting in one driver being transported to hospital by ambulance.
Around the same time, a three vehicle collision near Goldstream Avenue resulted in a rear-ender. No injuries were reported but heavy traffic delayed tow trucks attending the area.
Then around 7:40 a.m., West Shore RCMP were called to the intersection of Langford Parkway and Phipps Road after a female pedestrian was hit by a vehicle. The pedestrian was not seriously injured and RCMP reported that the driver of the vehicle remained on scene to cooperate with the investigation.
Westshore RCMP have provided tips for drivers in this weather:
- Use your headlights but avoid using your high beams. Headlights help make you visible to other drivers and pedestrians but high beams can reflect back and reduce your ability to see other road users.
- Don’t use cruise control in the rain. If you hydroplane in cruise control your wheels can reach an excessive speed while they’re not in contact with the road, which means you’ll be jolted forward once the wheels make contact again.
- Leave extra space between you and the vehicle in front. The three-second rule applies in good weather but you should double it to six seconds for light rain/fog and triple it to nine seconds for heavy rain/fog. If the vehicle in front of you is a commercial vehicle or a bus, leave even more room.
- Slow down. Posted speed limits assume good road and weather conditions so go below the limit to say safe in wet weather and low visibility.
- Beware of other vehicles around you. Larger vehicles such as trucks, buses and trailers are especially affected by heavy rain.
- Adjust your planned travel time to include sufficient time to fully demist/defog all your windows.
As we head into Autumn make sure you stay safe out there, Vancouver Island!
