Fairbanks Police limit motor vehicle accident response during inclement weather

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - On the morning of Friday, October 6, snow blanketed much of the Fairbanks area, creating wet, slippery, and hazardous conditions.

In response, the Fairbanks Police Department (FPD) sent out an alert to residents stating they will not respond to motor vehicle accidents, except for those that involve an injury or a driver being impaired.

According to FPD Chief Ron Dupee, this limited response has been the department’s policy since November of last year, and is due to a higher than normal volume of calls during inclement weather, which ties up police resources.

He also clarified the conditions which would call for a police presence include if a vehicle is unmovable, if there is a hit and run, or if a fatality is involved.

If involved in an accident that doesn’t meet these conditions, drivers are advised to move their vehicle if it is in the way of traffic, exchange insurance information with other drivers involved, and fill out a form notifying the Division of Motor Vehicles that an accident has occurred.

This form can be found on the FPD website.

FPD Dispatch can also help drivers to know what to do. Their phone number is 907-450-6500

Dupee recommends drivers be cautious when traveling. “When the Richardson Highway gets slick and we have vehicles that are going off both sides of the road and backing up traffic for the entire length all the way out to North Pole, those are the times that we’re looking at, we need to slow down and reduce responses for traffic accidents, VIDs, those types of things, and really just need drivers to stay off the road if they don’t need to be traveling.”