By VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — The snow and ice from last weekend’s storm has mostly melted away, but one local police chief hopes that people exercise caution on slick roads this winter.

Col. Joseph Moran of the Central Falls Police Department said that while highway personnel work hard to clear the streets, Moran advised motorists to use caution and courtesy on the road to prevent accidents this winter.
“We just hope we can get people to slow down,” Moran said. “And be careful. Obviously, you’ve got to reduce your speed due to the conditions of the roadways.”
Moran said that the usual suspects — ice, slush and the notoriously treacherous black ice — appeared to have contributed to a series of recent accidents locally. Police logs for Monday and Tuesday contained seven accident reports for each day.
In Pawtucket, meanwhile, 34 accidents were reported by police between Friday, Dec. 19 and Monday, Dec. 22, with 21 of those accidents requiring state reports to be filed. Between then and the end of Wednesday, an additional 24 accidents were reported in Pawtucket, with 17 of those requiring state reports.
It was not certain how many accidents had been reported in Cumberland. However, Sgt. Paul Brown said Wednesday afternoon that he was not aware of any accidents that had taken place that day.
It was not clear how many of the accidents reported in these communities were weather-related. However, Moran said the resulting road conditions were likely a factor in at least some of those reported by his department. He said that driver vigilance would be appreciated by his department, as there was only so much that keeping the roads clear could do to ensure safety.
“The highway department does a great job on the streets,” he said. “But it’s difficult to maintain. If (drivers) slow their speed down, they can assist us greatly.”