A sudden blast of wintry weather turned Halifax-area roads and highways into sheets of ice, making for a dangerous commute for motorists Wednesday morning.
Halifax Regional Police said ice forming under the snow created hazardous driving conditions during the morning rush hour.
Halifax police responded to at least eight weather-related accidents while the Nova Scotia RCMP responded to 15 collisions across the province.
“The snow turned into ice so even with winter tires there was no traction in most approaches,” said Halifax Regional Police Const. Pierre Bourdages.
Traffic was moving slowly along Nova Scotia’s 100-series highways Wednesday morning and slick roads forced many motorists to pull over.
“Just not worth it to me anymore. Thought I’d pull over, read a book, and be on my way when it is a little bit safer,” said one motorist.
“The average day is a mess and when you add weather like we had this morning, it really gets bad,” said another.
The weather and subsequent traffic caused delays for students as well. The Halifax Regional School Board said 38 buses were delayed and 20 of them were more than an hour late arriving at school.
Several Halifax Transit buses were also delayed or detoured Wednesday morning due to dangerous driving conditions.
Some motorists blamed the conditions on a lack of salt and too few road crews.
“We had staff on, we had loaded trucks on their routes, but the conditions we got this morning were a challenge,” said Darrin Natalino, head of Halifax Winter Works.
Police are reminding drivers to slow down on wet, slippery roads and to leave plenty of room for stopping when approaching intersections.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
