Traffic screeched to a standstill yesterday after an accident during morning rush hour on Harbour Road and Palmetto Road forced commuters to call offices and schools as the jam stretched for up to two hours.

But why did it take so long to open the road again? Police spokesperson Dwayne Caines gave some insight yesterday into the process Police follow in an accident, saying that in some cases, there is no other option for commuters but to sit and wait.

There are two kinds of road accidents, he said: a 10-56, or a collision without injury, and a 10-57, or a collision with injuries.

At a 10-56, the first priority of Police is, commuters will be glad to hear, to clear the road ?as soon as possible?, allowing traffic to flow again.

At a 10-57, however, the first priority is getting immediate medical care to the injured parties. ?It?s not to get the traffic flowing, it?s to make sure you save that person?s life.?

Once the parties are rushed to hospital, Police then have to conduct an extremely thorough investigation of the accident area. That involves measuring the road, accounting for skid marks and the position of the vehicles, even re-enacting an accident to get an accurate picture of what took place. Only once all information that can possibly be gleaned from the accident site is accurately documented can Police begin to clear the road for commuters.

Usually, while the accident investigation is on-going, Police will attempt to divert traffic, Mr. Caines said. However yesterday?s accident on Harbour Road was special for several reasons.

Firstly, due to the time of day (morning rush hour) and the location of the accident, there was nowhere to divert traffic to.

The accident took place in Paget by the Lower Ferry, already relatively close to Hamilton, and both Middle Road and South Shore Road are already clogged with traffic at that point during that time of day.

?There was no place to go,? Mr. Caines said. ?The only option was to sit it out.?

Secondly, the accident involved an overturned truck. Police had to find a way to right the massive vehicle on the extremely narrow, winding road, and then remove it. ?That was not a process that would take two minutes,? Mr. Caines said.

Recalling other accidents which have involved similar circumstances, Mr. Caines said the process could be ?uncomfortable? for commuters.

?But unless you have an artery to divert people on, people are going to have to wait. We try our best, but today there was nowhere to divert to.?

The only option Police had to was to get the news out as soon as possible in an effort to prevent more people from taking Harbour Road, and to alert those already on Harbour Road to what had happened so they could contact schools and offices if necessary. Mr. Caines was on every radio station yesterday morning giving that information.

?If something unforeseeable happens, we try to get the information out,? he said. ?If in doubt, listen to the radio.?