BOSTON -- A motorist and a state trooper were injured in separate weather-related crashes on Sunday as a coating of slick snow sent drivers skidding off the roadways.

At about 9:00 a.m., an unidentified woman lost control of her vehicle and careened into two state police cruisers parked in the break-down lane of Route 128 in Needham, according to the Massachusetts State Police.

The two troopers had exited their vehicles and were assisting another motorist when they saw the vehicle approaching and scrambled to safety before the collision. All three cars were damaged in the accident.

The woman was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Needham, for treatment of minor injuries.

In Newton, a state trooper was injured when his car crashed in the northbound lane of Route 128 at about 7:20 a.m. The trooper was treated at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington and released. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to state police.

NewsCenter 5’s Lynn Joliceour reported that some drivers are hoping to avoid the hazards of slick driving conditions by enrolling in driver skills development programs, which teach advanced accident avoidance techniques.

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At the In Control driving school, experienced and novice drivers alike took part in winter-weather training sessions Sunday.

“It was amazing,” said Catherine Harrison, of Wendham, who signed up for the driving course. “I really learned what I could do with my car to be safe and to be able to control it.”

In Control instructor Brandon Bogart said the most common cause of crashes in all weather conditions is following other vehicles too closely. He warned that leaving one car length for every 10 mph you are travelling will not leave enough stopping distance to prevent a collision.

A better way to determine a safe following distance, instructors said, is to note when the vehicle ahead of you passes an object alongside the road and make sure that it takes at least three seconds for you to pass the same object.

“It’s going to take the average motorist a little time to get acclimated to the weather conditions out here,” said state police trooper Ruben Colon. “People need to realize when it starts to snow, they just need to reduce their speeds.”