Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
February 15, 2019 - 4:04 PM
ICBC is puzzled as to why they have received the highest percentage increase of calls from the Southern Interior than the rest of the province this past week.
Linday Wilkins with ICBC says while the Lower Mainland always sends in the most calls, the Southern Interior saw the largest percentage increase as compared to the other regions of B.C.
"After a snowstorm we would expect to see a big increase but for whatever reason, we don't know why, but we didn't really see this same type of increase in other regions those days," Wilkins says in a phone interview.
According to Wilkins' report sent via email yesterday, Feb. 14, ICBC received 145 calls from the Southern Interior, up nine per cent from last Thursday.
Wednesday, Feb. 13 saw 131 calls up 66 per cent from last week.
Finally on Tuesday, Feb. 12, ICBC received 191 calls up 44 per cent from the previous week a media release says.
ICBC says an average of 77 casualties occur in February due to driving too fast for the conditions, based on police data ffrom 2013 to 2017.
Wilkes says this high percentage of calls will not affect rates, that are set to increase this April.
Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald, says the Southern Interior is receiving approximately average snowfall for this time of year, but Vancouver Island is seeing almost 10 times the average for February.
From Tuesday, Feb. 5 to yesterday Victoria has received 68 cm when 6 cm is the average for the entire month of February. In that same time Kamloops has received 10 cm of snow.
Given last week's anomaly on the southern region of Vancouver Island, it comes as a surprise to the metorologist that the highest percentage increase in ICBC calls came from the Southern Interior.
"Across the Interior people are used to snow during the winter," MacDonald says in a phone interview. "Those are places that received snow; people are more equipped and well prepared and used to driving in snow."
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