Police believe an underlying medical condition caused a two-car crash at Gravelly Beach. Picture: SCOTT GELSTON
DOZENS of people escaped serious injuries yesterday as more than 20 cars crashed across the state.
There were two separate pile-ups on the Southern Outlet near Prospect which involved 11 vehicles just before 9am.
Four vehicles collided near the Prospect bypass, while 100 metres north, seven vehicles crashed.
All passengers and drivers escaped uninjured, but six vehicles had to be towed while traffic was diverted through Prospect and Kings Meadows.
Inspector Michael Johnston said the crashes were caused by bad weather and inattention.
``People drive down that hill awfully close to each other and once something happens in the weather conditions like it did this morning, it compounds itself pretty quickly,'' Mr Johnson said.
When the Southern Outlet crashes occurred there was heavy rain and ``the roads were very slippery''.
Police believe a two-vehicle crash near Gravelly Beach could have been caused be an underlying medical condition.
Other collisions occurred on Hobart Road, at Kings Meadows, Frederick Street, in Launceston, the West Tamar Highway, at Riverside and Johnston Street, at Moonah.
Mr Johnson said all were minor collisions, ``but that is a lot of risk and a lot of potential for people to get hurt''.
He said it was a reminder that people needed to drive safe on the roads.
``People need to slow down when the weather changes like this,'' he said.
``They need to allow a greater distance between themselves and the vehicle they are following and they need to allow themselves more time to stop.''
He said people should also avoid driving through flooded roads, and call Tasmanian Police if they notice great amounts of water on roads.
``The risk is not worth it,'' he said.
