It does not take much snow or ice to the make the roads slick. The Sierra got the majority of the snow from the storm Wednesday night, but the valley still saw some snow, and we still had a decent amount of crashes because of slick roads in the valley.
"When we get a small amount of snow, like we did this morning and last night into the morning, people tend to be a little more confident. They do not realize the snow or ice are there until it's too late," said Matt McLaughlin of Nevada Highway Patrol.Â
Just over a year ago on January 22nd, the Reno Tahoe Airport got about 7.5 Inches of snow with 18 crashes reported around the area. The following day 24 crashes were reported. We had at least 15 crashes reported with this latest storm. Despite a big difference in the amount of snow, numbers of crashes are pretty similar. It only takes a coating of snow to make the roads slick.Â
"Even if there's a dusting it's like I never know what's below that or how cold it's gotten. So even if there's a little bit of snow, I'm always cautious. I've had slide outs and stuff in the past," said Nevada resident Sarah Lillegaurd.Â
When the roads are slick, the best thing to do is to take it slow and leave plenty of room between you and the car ahead of you. Even if most of the snow has melted already, watch out for frozen puddles and shady spots where the snow has not melted yet.Â
On average, over 2000 crashes happen in the state of Nevada annually because of winter-related, wet conditions, and 24Â percent of weather-related crashes nationwide are from snowy, icy, or slushy conditions. Oftentimes conditions are worse than what you think. Overpasses and bridges can also be icy, while the rest of the road is fine.Â
"The pavement was dry but the bridge was icy. I was going the speed limit but probably should have been going a little slower," said Nevada Resident Patrick Bingham.Â
NHP wants to remind the public, that even if the speed limit is 65, the ideal speed is much lower if roads are slick, and you can get cited if you go too fast for the conditions. It is also your fault if roads are bad and you get in a one person crash.Â
