Ambulance Company says Roadway Accidents Rise as Temperatures Do

As the weather heats up in North Central Washington, first responders in the region say they see an uptick in traffic collisions.

Shawn Ballard of Ballard Ambulance in Wenatchee says there's one major contributor to the accidents his company responds to.

"As the temperature gets warmer, peoples' habits on the roadway get worse. A lot of the accidents we see this time of the year are from people following too close. As the temperature starts to get up into the 90s we just see people start getting in a hurry and they're right up on each others' bumpers. We see this in some of the fairly major accidents we go out to."

Ballard says there's a simple solution to combating the possibility of such collisions and staying safe.

"My encouragement to people is for them to just back off a little bit. Don't be in such a hurry because you're putting yourself at risk and putting other people at risk. So just take that extra time and put an extra car length in between yourself and the person in front of you."

Ballard adds other causes of fatality and injury collisions are speeding and improper passing.