Avalanche danger is an ever-present reality in the state of Washington during the winter. It affects our road safety and can cause car accidents and other road hazards. You need to be informed in order not to make a dangerous situation even worse. Sometimes, though, no matter what you do, another careless driver can cause you to have a car accident in this type of weather.
Snow slides or avalanches are something that those who live near mountains in Washington have to live with. The Washington State Department of Transportation works at mitigating or preventing the road hazard by controlling when and how the unstable snow is brought down.
It is so important to stay aware of your surroundings in winter in general. When you are fighting the weather, the last thing you want to face is a negligent driver. Unfortunately, this happens. There are ways to reduce your danger level so far as snow slides go. The WSDOT tries its best to bring down unstable snow at off-peak hours and definitely just after the snow is recognized as unstable.
The department does its best to forecast avalanches, and does a very good job at it. They dig snow pits and use the latest technology to discover which areas need attention. Temperature, water content and weight are measured to precisely determine when the best time to bring down the heavy snow.
The WSDOT uses many techniques and tools to bring down snow that is dangerous to drivers. This includes weather observation stations, forecasting tools and snow analysis as well as looking historical records to see where the snow will likely be most dangerous.
It would be great if drivers that cause accidents would operate their vehicles as carefully as the WSDPT runs its avalanche control stations. Without a doubt, you have run into someone who is not paying attention on the road when the weather is bad. They may have caused you injury in a car accident.
You may want to contact a legal professional who can help you get what you deserve: compensation for medical bills, lost wages and more due to an accident on the snowy road.
Source: Washington State Department of Transportation, “Avalanche control” Jan. 30, 2015
