CHARLOTTETOWN – Police in Prince Edward Island are warning drivers to stop being so nice to each other, after a number of accidents caused by motorists trying to be kind.

Charlottetown Police Chief Paul Smith says there have been at least two accidents on the city’s busy University Avenue in the past week caused by one driver stopping and waving another in.

“A good Samaritan gesture can sometimes have devastating consequences when you are looking at t-bone accidents,” Smith said in an interview.

“When you are looking at four-lane roadways, the obstructions that happen when someone stops — particularly in an inner lane to allow someone out — they’re not seeing what’s coming up on the curb lane.”

University Avenue is one of Charlottetown’s busiest four-lane thoroughfares, with businesses lining both sides of the street.

Smith said people are trying to be courteous to others during the holiday season, but that can lead to problems for all involved.

“The flip-side is, if I’m the good Samaritan, I run the risk of being — in an insurance world — one of the causing factors of it, and who knows where that could lead,” he said.

Charlottetown police are reminding motorists to stick to the rules of the road.

— By Kevin Bissett in Fredericton.