Snow Fall Creates Problems For Drivers

The roads were slick in the Sioux Empire Thursday, and law enforcement and emergency responders were busy.

Between a jacked knifed tractor-trailer on I-90 to two highway patrol vehicles being crashed into, the roads were tricky for most.

According to the highway patrol starting at 6 a.m. they responded to 29 accidents. Drivers or passengers required medical attention in five of those accidents.

The jackknifed truck Thursday morning slowed traffic to a crawl on Interstate 90 near Brandon, forcing as many seven cars off the road and into the ditch.

While only around an inch fell in Sioux Falls Thursday morning it was still a problem for a lot of drivers.
 

Lieutenant Paul Gerken of the Sioux Falls Police Department says,” A half inch an inch of snow does cause the roads to become icy and slippery and motorists should slow down.”

But the small amount of snow was enough to create headaches for law enforcement.

Meanwhile plows tried to keep up with a snow that was heavy at times.

And the snow-covered highways had drivers taking extra precautions. 

Kalleen Mead says, “ I'm a little nervous here we'll see how it goes.”

Anna Grimsrud says, “Just be very careful and go slow.”

Going slow is especially crucial with emergency vehicles working on or near the roads.

Gerken says,” When people are out there traveling and they come up on a situation out there on the road what they need to do is slow down prior to getting to what ever it is that is out there.”

For Tervor Plett his trip is just beginning after visiting some family in Pierre. He's driving all the way to Washington D.C. and he's not excited about the weather ahead of him. 

Trevor Plett says,” Basically that you've got some uncovered pavement so that you can just stay on there and not drive crazy.”

Cars going off the road go hand in hand with snow-covered roads, but driving slow and being cautious is key to staying in between the lines.

Plett says,” It’s just something you have to deal with.”