The Utah Highway Patrol responded to hundreds of accidents between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. (Utah Highway Patrol)
SALT LAKE CITY — What do you do if you have a fender bender while driving in the snow? Do you get out of the car? Do you move the car? How do you do that safely? And what about calling the police? There are a lot of questions to answer and answer quickly if you have a minor car accident on the freeway during a snowstorm.
The Utah Highway Patrol says that, in all cases, safety is the main priority.
“We want people to get into as safe a position as possible,” said UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden. He said that usually means getting your vehicle out of the flow of traffic.
“Especially if (the car) is blocking lanes,” Roden said.
Where you take your car after a fender bender while driving in snow is also a part of the safety equation. Roden said that, if possible, drivers involved in an accident on the freeway should travel to the next off-ramp.
“Actually we would encourage drivers to actually move to an off-ramp, a safe place like that, and then call law enforcement.
“That way we’re responding to a safe place for them, they’re (the driver) in a better spot (where) we’re not causing any secondary collisions,” Roden said.
And it’s okay, Roden said, if that next offramp is a couple of miles away.
Roden noted several crashes this year alone where people had gotten out of their vehicles after a crash on a Utah freeway, only to be hit by passing traffic.
Other safety reminders for winter driving offered by the Utah Department of Safety include slowing down, buckling up, watching for black ice, and being aware that bridges become icy quickly.
Listen to Sgt. Roden on KSL NewsRadio’s Dave and Dujanovic podcasted, below.