Most people around the Golden Horseshoe Area of Ontario woke up Sunday morning to snow. It was the first snowfall of the season. Normally, the first snow fall is just a warning shot. It snows; and it’s pretty. And very quickly, the snow melts away without causing any chaos. It’s a reminder to make our vehicles, our homes and ourselves “winter ready“. This means a mad rush to buy salt or sand for our driveways and walkways, getting our snow tires on our vehicles; having winter clothes and winter boots (which fit; especially for the children); making sure our vehicles have proper levels of antifreeze and windshield washer fluid (the stuff that works well in the winter); installing winter mats to our vehicles, homes and places of business and any other preparation that suits your needs for the winter weather. It’s quite a transition going from “this weather is tolerable” to “I don’t want to leave the house because it’s cold and yucky outside”.
After the first snowfall of the year, our law firm gets a lot of accident calls. Whether they are slip and fall calls, or car accident calls; we tend to see a lot more accidents after the first snowfall of the year. I have a lot of theories behind this. But, the primary theory always comes down to the fact that people aren’t ready for the first snowfall. They either forgot about how to deal with driving or simply walking in winter weather conditions. Or, they are new to dealing with winter weather conditions. If you are new to Canada, and coming from a country that doesn’t experience snow, ice or slush; then driving or just walking in your first snowfall is new and you don’t have the experience of handling these conditions. The other part of the equation is that people are taken by surprise by the first snowfall. They don’t have their winter boots ready. Their snow tires aren’t on their vehicles so they are sliding all over the roads. Finally, the city’s snow plows and salt trucks are ready, but they really aren’t in a winter maintenance grove because it’s their first time needing to be dispatched for the season. When you haven’t done something for a while (like trucks/snow plows sitting idle in a yard all year long), getting back into the swing of things can take time.
Here are some quick tips from Goldfinger Injury Lawyers:
- Expect delays in your commute times and getting around your City, Town or Community. The roads will be slippery. There will be accidents on the roads causing slow downs. Chances are neither you, nor your fellow drivers have snow tires on their vehicles as of yet. Slow down to get around and be cautious. Expect that nobody remembers or knows how to drive when there is snow on the road.
- Expect delays in getting on your snow tires. Just because you want your snow tires on today, doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen today. The dealerships and auto shops will be backed up with requests to install snow tires. This is their busy time. But, the sooner you make the appointment, the sooner those tires will get on your vehicle
- Check your old winter boots or get some new winter boots. Make sure they fit yourself, and make sure they fit your family members (particularly your children). Chances are your kids outgrew last seasons winter boots, so it might be time to get them some new ones. Do this sooner rather than later, otherwise, people will be going out and about in running shoes which isn’t appropriate for winter weather conditions. One of the first questions insurers have for winter time slip and fall cases is what footwear the Plaintiff was wearing at the time of his/her slip and fall. If you are wearing Crocs, sandals or sneakers, they will look to trim part of the potential award off for failure to wear appropriate footwear given the winter weather conditions. At the end of the day, it’s not ideal nor entirely safe to be out and about in footwear not designed to grip properly for winter.
- If you are a cyclist, make sure that you are visible. Assume that motorists can’t see you. We go from having long and pleasant summer and fall nights; to all of the sudden; weeks upon weeks of no sunlight and total darkness starting at 5:00PM. Cyclists need to be seen when there is poor lighting. Don’t rely on street lights to brighten things up. While, that’s the job and intention of street lights, you would be surprised at how often they go out; or at how ineffective they are. They could be more efficient and effective, but Cities and Municipalities simply don’t have the time or the resources to make this happen. That means that cyclists need to take greater personal responsibility for their safety and being seen while riding on the roads. This means lots of reflective gear, lots of lights at the front and rear of the bicycle; and of course; always wear a helmet. Make sure the helmet is reflective and of a bright colour. Black helmets seem cool and aesthetically pleasing to many, but they aren’t visible in the dark and aren’t the best choice when it comes to safety.
- If you get into a car accident, make sure to get the name, address, and insurance information of the other driver. You will be amazed by the amount of people who still don’t know about this. If you don’t get this information, the other driver will take off never to be seen again. If you want to take legal action against this person, you won’t be able to do so because you don’t have any of their contact information. The police can’t magically track this person down with non-existent cameras that we think are following us around every corner. It is a critical error for any injured accident victim not to get the name, contact information and insurance information of the other party.
