Winter wrath wreaks havoc
Officials warn drivers to take precautions in winter weather
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 9:59 AM PST
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| This was no accident, as someone driving around in circles Friday night in the snow on property owned by Jim Wada, west of Ontario, clipped some poles supporting a lean-to on a shed, collapsing the roof. No suspects have been found. |
ONTARIO — Oregon and other Northwest states encountered the first, hard round of winter weather during the weekend, but many motorists still failed to take notice and drive defensively, state agencies said.
“They had a lot of slide-offs,” Tom Davis, ODOT assistant District 14 maintenance manager, said.
One of those slide-offs involved a semi-truck near Three-Mile Hill north of Ontario on Interstate 84. Davis confirmed the truck was not chained up and that is an issue with trucks going through the region.
However, Davis said this part of the valley was fortunate in missing the greatest part of the snow.
Safety, Davis said, is key for drivers during winter weather.
“You can’t rush,” Davis said.
Ontario Oregon State Police commander, Lt. Richard Pileggi, confirmed his office was busy during the winter onslaught.
“We responded to 10 crashes,” Pileggi said.
He blamed the high number of slide-offs on people not paying attention because a lot of information was released regarding the coming weekend winter squall.
“There were a lot of crashes between here and Pendleton,” Pileggi said. OSP plans to cut down on these types of incidents as it puts out more troopers on select mountain passes to enforce winter driving laws and regulations on required equipment for vehicles.
According to an announcement from OSP Sgt. Alan Hageman, patrol services division, four of the targeted areas are along Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon: Cabbage Hill, Ladd Canyon, Weatherby, between Baker City and Huntington and Three Mile Hill. Santiam Pass, on U.S. Highway 20, is another route often traveled by people.
“These problematic mountain passes were selected during the last couple years, and are targeted again this year because they have been plagued by crashes during the winter months,” Hageman said. “Having the right size and number of chains required and the appropriate tires on your vehicle when traveling where they may be required is good for you and other drivers.” OSP chain enforcement efforts received a grant from ODOT to provide more than 500 hours of overtime enforcement at the 12 mountain passes.
