TORONTO – The snow, although forecast, has left drivers stunned, and many of them, perhaps unprepared, have been involved in traffic accidents caused by the slipperiness of the roads. 

According to data from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), in just 24 hours—between Sunday and today, when the first snowfall of the season fell on Toronto and southern Ontario—there were 340 snow-related accidents involving drivers in the Greater Toronto Area.

Sergeant Kerry Schmidt of the Ontario Provincial Police said that 220 collisions were reported, and that there were approximately 120 or more incidents in which vehicles ended up in ditches or got stuck in the snow. Schmidt added that mostly of them are minor accidents, similar to rear-end collisions, but there were also some serious incidents along Highway 400, with people taken to the hospital.

It’s been a “very busy 24 hours,” Schmidt added. And the emergency may not be over yet: as we write, the snow is still falling, and in addition to the accumulation, there’s the problem of ice, which already formed last night on several streets.

The highways and main roads have been cleared and are mostly wet, but sidewalks and secondary roads are still covered in snow and ice, requiring caution. Drivers should immediately put on winter tires: many, caught off guard by the first snowfall, hadn’t yet done so. This is likely the reason for the high number of accidents.

Traffic under the snow, this morning, on Dufferin Street (photo: Marzio Pelù / Corriere Canadese)