JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore.– First responders had their hands full in Josephine County over the last two days as crews responded to call after call of traffic collisions.
Rural Metro Fire says due to the heavy rain, wetter than normal road conditions and plenty of human error, it experienced quite an uptick in accidents. While many of the crashes did lead to serious injury or any injuries, one did require extrication from a car and several were sent to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
“It’s not the rain and pavement that’s wet that’s causing these crashes, it just contributes,” said Austin Prince, Division Chief for Rural Metro. “Usually it’s the driver that is actually failing to adapt to the conditions.”
Prince says many of the crashes they responded to involved drivers who were intoxicated, drowsy, speeding, and even distracted. He says those actions coupled with the weather conditions all led to this influx of crashes.
“It’s mostly human behavior that’s causing the crash, he said. “It just makes it more likely when the pavement is wet.”
First responders would like to remind everyone when weather such as snow or rain affects the road conditions, everyone should be alert and slow down as they drive.
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