Why those flipped and ditched vehicles in Kamloops are still there

– This story was originally published Jan. 4, 2022.

Snowstorms and extreme cold in recent weeks have made for dangerous highway conditions in the Kamloops area.

Drivers may feel encouraged to travel even more cautiously when passing the handful of vehicles that have flipped and remain in ditches, some of which have been there since before Christmas.

A Kamloops tow truck company blames long wait times for traffic controllers for a delay in vehicle recoveries.

"We've got about five or six waiting on traffic control," office manager for Don's Auto Towing, Jen Kivari, said.

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Kivari said tow truck services do not have the same six to seven hour wait times as they did last week, which was largely attributed to extremely cold weather that left many Kamloops drivers unable to start their vehicles.

Icy conditions remained on Highway 1 through the city, and while traffic controllers were busy, they try to avoid closing a lane.

"We're just crazy busy. And, of course, they're waiting on breaks in the weather. We don't want to go out there and close a lane and create more hazards," Kevin Waddell, operations vice president for ATS Traffic Services said.

Waddell added that in the Kamloops area, they have a significant amount of work with Trans Mountain pipeline operations, which can take away from available workers for traffic incidents and vehicle recoveries.

The Arctic front that brought snowfall and extreme cold to B.C.'s Interior in late-December left 27 centimetres of snow in Kamloops and multiple days below -20 C, according to Environment Canada.

But Kivari said most of the vehicles they have recovered this winter were not equipped with winter tires.

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"I don't know if (road conditions) are worse than other years," she said. "A lot don't have snow tires on or weren't driving to the conditions."

Temperatures are warming up in Kamloops and the Okanagan, and as conditions improve, more of the vehicles awaiting tow trucks along highways will be recovered.

Kivari reminds drivers to slow down for service workers when they see amber lights along the road, and she's thankful there have been no incidents with their drivers this year.

Throughout the province, drivers are required to slow down to 70 km/h anywhere the speed limit is 80 km/h or above, if there are emergency vehicles on the roadside.

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In areas where the speed limit is below 80 km/h, slowing down to 40 km/h is required, or drivers could face a $173 ticket.

From 2008 to 2017, 230 people were hit by vehicles when working either on the road or beside it, according to the B.C. government. Twelve of those people died.

Moving over to the next lane is preferred if it is safe when there are workers present.

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