A Boost In Winter Highway Safety Measures

VICTORIA – After an intense winter, the Province announced that they’ll be making several improvements to make highways safer and more reliable during the winter months.

“I have heard from people and communities throughout the province that we need to take action to improve safety on our highways,” said Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “With that in mind, our government is moving quickly to implement changes that will ensure people are able to get where they need to go more safely through the winter months.”

These improvements include extended winter tire and chain regulations from October 1st to April 30th in case of early-spring snowfalls. An investment of $1.8 million over the next three years will go to adding more overhead message signs and weather stations to provide drivers more information about road delays and weather conditions. Contractors will receive new tools and technology to improve their monitoring and auditing for highway maintenance. There will be an increase to 90 minutes in patrols on Class A highways like the Coquihalla during a winter storm. In the event of a forecasted storm, there will be an increase in patrol frequency to four hours. Contractors will be required to spread anti-icing chemicals on the highways prior to a storm in the forecast. On major three-lane highways, commercial vehicles will not be able to use the far left lane in order to keep it clear for other motorists and emergency crews. There will also be higher fines for commercial vehicles that don’t carry chains or for those that don’t chain up when it’s mandatory. More winter driving awareness will be executed on multiple platforms in order to reach more British Columbians.