Rhode Island State Police Called To 47 Crashes During Snowfall

PROVIDENCE, RI — In the span of just a few hours, Rhode Island State Police were called to nearly four dozen crashes during the snowfall Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

There were 47 crashes in total across the state, police said, all of which were minor and with no serious injuries.

Early Wednesday morning, a tractor-trailer truck rolled over on I-95 North, WPRI reported, causing serious delays for the morning commute. According to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the crash closed all four lanes of the highway near the T.F. Green Airport exit in Warwick.

Warwick Police reminded drivers that even when there isn't much snow accumulation, it's important to take time to clear off your vehicle before driving. Not only is it safer for yourself and other drivers: it's the law.

"We didn't get too much snow last night, but we are still seeing a lot of cars on the road that are still snow covered," the department said. "Remember it is not only a hazard for the operator to not be able to clearly see out of the vehicle but it is also a hazard for the cars around that could be hit by snow or ice blowing off."

Rhode Island law bans driving a vehicle "with any significant amounts of snow or ice," with "significant" defined as "any amount of accumulation which might reasonably be expected, when blowing off the vehicle while driving, to obscure the vision of an operator of another vehicle."