‘Don’t take weird risks:’ Ruts in roads wreaking havoc

Saskatoon’s Craig Silliphant found himself in an awkward situation Friday morning.

The ruts made from other vehicles in his back alley caused Silliphant to get stuck on his way to work.

“That snow was slushy (Thursday) and (it) formed giant ruts when big trucks and stuff drove through them but then hardened overnight,” Silliphant explained.

“When I went to pull out of my garage (Friday) morning, I pulled over the ruts like I normally do because they’re usually not that bad, but it was deep and hard ice.”

Silliphant says to be very aware on certain streets to avoid any disaster.

“I would say be very careful,” he said. “Don’t take chances (and) don’t take weird risks. I shouldn’t have pulled out over (the ruts) this morning.

“You don’t want to end up stuck, especially because it is so cold out right now.”

One Regina autobody shop said if someone notices a road filled with ruts, their best course of action is to avoid that street if possible.

“It’s one thing when they are soft and slushy — you can kind of plow your way through it. But once they become mounds of ice and ruts of ice, that’s when the damage can occur,” said Chad Mario, a managing partner with Regina Autobody.

The recent weather in Saskatchewan has included fresh snow that would melt but then freeze once again, creating the ruts.

“If you’ve got a car that is lower to the ground, you’re going to be scraping the bottom of your vehicle along all those deep ridges and you run the risk of tearing undershields off and damage to your bumper covers or something,” Mario said. “If anything plastic catches, it will tear it right off.

“The best thing to do is just to try and avoid those ungraded, unplowed side streets until the city can get at them.”

Like any repairs with vehicles, the price tag for repairs for cars that hit ruts can be more than $1,000, even for things that appear to be minor.

“A lot of times, there is more damage than you can see until a vehicle is really inspected and taken a look at,” Mario said. “It’s quite often an insurance claim any time damage happens to your vehicle at all.”

He said his shop hasn’t seen an increase in vehicles needing repairs, but says there’s often a week or two delay between weather and cars needing repairs.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray