Ah, the sound of spinning tires and revving engines. It’s winter in Vancouver.
It’s something of a cliché that Vancouverites have a tough time on the roads when faced with a sprinkling of snow, but can you really blame a city that Environment Canada says gets fewer than nine days a year with more than 0.2 centimetres of the stuff?
So when the region gets more than 10 centimetres in a day, as it did on Friday, no one is surprised that things get messy.
Nonetheless, it can be a spectacle.
Take, for example, this Lamborghini with a “Novice” driver decal. Vancouver has the distinction of being the supercar captial of North America, so they’re not an uncommon sight on the road. Off-road, however, a much rarer scene.
Supercar drivers, however, weren’t the only ones spinning their tires around Metro Vancouver on Friday.
Anyone trying to get from point A to point B on the bus during a Metro Vancouver snow storm knows that the delays start to pile up about as quickly as the snow does.
TransLink has implemented a number of measures to try and deal with this, from reducing the use of articulated buses to trying out new “tire socks,” but there was plenty of evidence on Friday that there is a ways to go before the fleet is truly winter ready.
Despite regular reminders from the region’s police forces and ICBC to take the time to completely clear windshields of snow, there’s always at least someone that rolls the dice.
On Thursday, Richmond RCMP reported 22 collisions in a 24 hour period due to a lighter accumulation of snow.
With Friday’s dump, there were dozens more across the region as commuters battled the unfamiliar elements.
During the 2016 Metro Vancouver snow storm, ICBC reported that claims nearly doubled on snow days; on Friday, it said it was already dealing with a spike in claims for the day, but that data on the number would not be available until next week.
With more snow on the way for Saturday, drivers are being advised to stay off the road if they don’t need to drive, and to ensure they are properly equipped with snow tires if they must drive.
Or, you can follow the example of these Vancouverites, and look into alternate winter transportation.
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