Snow leaves drivers slipping, sliding and colliding

Like it or not, winter weather is upon us with slippery roads and icy conditions.

There have been a number of crashes today, including one that closed the westbound lanes of the 401 for 5 hours.

The snow began to fall during the day on Sunday and it hasn’t stopped. While the winter wonderland looks beautiful, the first snow fall has caused some major issues on roads and highways this morning.

The snow caused several collisions in the city. Hamilton Police responded to 6 major crashes but say several others occurred that did not need police attention.

Provincial police say they responded to dozens of crashes across southern ontario this morning between 6 and 8 am. Their twitter feed appeared to show a new accident almost every 10-15 minutes.

OPP media officer Sgt Kerry Schmidt says the two collisions on the westbound lanes of the 401 were the most serious. Just before 3 o’clock this morning a few cars and 4 transport trucks crashed due to the slippery road conditions.

The accidents closed the westbound lanes of the highway between Guelph Line and Highway 6 south for over 5 hours. One transport truck jackknifed, two ended up in a ditch and the other ruptured its fuel tank spilling diesel across the highway. Luckily, no one was injured.

Police have listed a couple tips. They say not to leave the house without a snow brush and windshield wiper fluid for your car.

The OPP says the roads are still wet and the snow is still falling. They are advising drivers to be more cautious.