ICBC received almost 1,500 claims per day this week amid snow, freezing rain

ICBC says it has received nearly 1,500 claims per day since Metro Vancouver saw its first snowfall of the year on Jan. 11.

More than a third of claims recorded from Jan. 11 through 18 came as a result of that initial, unexpected burst of winter, but high claim volumes continued through the larger storm that struck this week.

During that period, 1,496 claims have been filed per day.

Karen Klein, ICBC's road safety coordinator for Surrey and White Rock, said both drivers and pedestrians need to remain vigilant on the roads as rain returns and snow melts.

“(Drivers should be) still, you know, driving with a lot of care, still going into cornering maneuvers really slowly and gradually, breaking a lot sooner than you typically would, but also watching out for puddles and hydroplaning and things like that,” she said.

On average, crashes caused by drivers going too fast for road conditions spike in January, when compared to October. Police data from 2018 to 2022 shows a 60 per cent increase in these collisions in the Lower Mainland and a 91 per cent increase province-wide.

Klein said large puddles and slushy sidewalks can lead to pedestrians walking in places where they wouldn't normally be, and urged drivers to be hyper aware of their surroundings over the coming days.

Pedestrians, too, need to be vigilant, she said, advising people to take earbuds out and put phones away if they find themselves walking on roadways.

"If you have to maneuver around puddles, you have to do that very cautiously," Klein said. "We know that there's a big spike in crashes in January due to weather, so we really want drivers and pedestrians to really be aware of their surroundings."