ICBC reports 94% spike in claims on snowy Tuesday vs. prior week

NORTH VANCOUVER — All it usually takes for Lower Mainland highways and thoroughfares to descend into chaos is a mixture of impatient drivers and snowfall or icy conditions.

As evidence, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) reported in a news release Thursday (Dec. 1) that snowfall on B.C.’s South Coast this week has generated a 94 per cent increase in claims.

On Tuesday, November 29, claims increased by 94 per cent (3,567) compared to Tuesday, November 22 of the week prior (1,837).

Social media feeds showed the extent of the chaos on Metro Vancouver roads, including cars and trucks on roadside shoulders and the utter gridlock on one direction of the Alex Fraser Bridge southeast of Vancouver earlier this week. In some cases, people’s normal commutes of an hour or so doubled or tripled.