Why the holidays spike truck accidents in prairie provinces

Winter means road accidents in Canada’s prairie provinces and that’s especially true for fleet operators, says a new study by Samsara, a U.S. based provider of telematics software and data analysis to transportation companies and other industries.

The firm’s analysis of data from billions of kilometres driven across Canada finds crash rates jump 136% in Manitoba and just shy of 96% in Saskatchewan during the holiday season and into early January.

The data sets are specific to fleet operators, including commercial trucking, the company tells CU. For the study, winter is defined as December, January and February, and for fall, the data set comprises September, October and November. 

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While it’s not surprising that accident rates increase when drivers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan face the region’s harsh winter conditions, the data show “the most significant seasonal crash increases affecting prairie carriers this year occurred on major national corridors.”

That trend is particularly noticeable along the Trans-Canada Highway, which logged one of the largest winter surges nationwide — from a total of 40 crashes in fall to 122 in winter.

Dangerous holiday ramp up

Looking at weekly accident totals, the study finds crash rates follow a defined pattern — with risk building “steadily through late November and early December.”

This is caused by a meeting up of early winter road freezing and a surge in both holiday freight movement and more evening travel. Further, the study finds 47% of winter crashes happen between 12 pm and 8 pm — a time when temperatures fall quickly and fleet vehicles are still on the roads.

“Congestion, changing pavement temperatures, and the transition from daylight to darkness combine to shrink reaction time,” the study says. “Nighttime hours remain especially risky as temperatures drop and visibility worsens, while late-night and early-morning periods still see serious crashes driven by fatigue and black ice.”

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Samsara’s study notes the trend wanes during the week between Christmas and New Year’s but the trend reverses in the early part of the new year and crash rates once again climb.

In addition to temperatures swings, the report notes drifting snow can also lead to increases in crash rates, even during periods when total kilometres driven decline.

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.