Slippery conditions across state causing accidents and injuries

Residents in Michigan are no strangers to the snow, but when Mother Nature rears her ugly head, sometimes the road conditions can get incredibly hazardous; even for the most seasoned of drivers.

Such was the case this month for motorists across the state as police and emergency crews had their hands full with everything from spinouts to crashes involving injuries. Many of the accidents reported across southwest Michigan were attributed to slippery roads and quickly accumulating snow, something even the most careful of drivers had difficulty traversing.

For drivers in Kalamazoo County, dangerous road conditions tied up emergency responders for a majority of the day after Christmas and by 4 pm that day, they could only say that they had been "inundated" with reports of car accidents; they couldn't even estimate a number.

An accident in Oshtemo involving two vehicles left one person injured after slippery road conditions sent one vehicle into a skid, rear ending the vehicle in front of them. The injured motorist was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries and it appears that the other motorist was not injured.

It's important to remember that even if you've have years of experience driving in inclement weather, sometimes you can be caught off guard by how hazardous the conditions really are. But even if the weather is to blame, drivers must be responsible for any injuries they may cause to other motorists. And with the National Weather Service forecasting more snow for the upcoming weekend for much of the state, these words should be in the forefront of every driver's minds as they set out for their weekend travels.

Source: mlive.com, "Motorist injured in 2-car accident at Drake and KL Avenue," Aaron Mueller, Dec. 26, 2012